Hundreds and Thousands
by 263Adder
Summary: Vanya finally joins the Umbrella Academy for donuts and Ben realises how much he's missed his sister. Then and Now series: Part 4.
1. Cinnamon Sugar

Six tugged at the collar of the new uniform Dad had given them.

He hated it. They were uncomfortable and, while it was apparently Kevlar lined, the shiny black material made him feel ridiculous. He didn't understand why they couldn't keep wearing their uniforms, at least then they didn't have to wrestle with zips and straps when the mission alarm went off. All they had to do was put on a mask; now he felt like he was at war with his own clothes.

"Six." Four groaned, walking into his room. "Can you help me? I think I've gone wrong somewhere and Dad's timing us again."

"If I knew how these things fastened, sure." He groaned as he continued to struggle with his own uniform, twisting his arm left and right. "But right now I think this sleeve is wrong – it _feels_ wrong."

"Six!" Four continued to complain, showing Six the back of his neck. "Just finish zipping me in. I've already screwed up once today, I need to get downstairs before everyone else."

"I think none of us are going anywhere in a hurry." Six grumbled, harshly tugging on his sleeve. "What is _up_ with this thing?"

"Hey, Six..." Seven called out with the worst possible timing, hovering in his doorway.

"Not _now_ Seven." He snapped back.

"You can't come on missions." Four echoed, trying to contort his arm to reach the zip on his back.

She didn't say another word and Six didn't need to look to see she was gone.

"Look, just pull my sleeve down for me then I might actually be able to lift my arm high enough to zip you up." Six compromised.

Four quickly seized his sleeve and yanked down as hard of he could, pulling out the bunched-up fabric near his shoulder.

"Perfect. Come here."

Six seized the zip and wrenched it up.

"Now let's get downstairs before he throws a fit."

Four was hot on Six's heels as they dashed towards the lobby where Dad was waiting with a stopwatch in hand.

Father was frowning intently as he waited for them to assemble, his monocle almost ready to pop from the folds of his skin.

One and Three were already waiting. Five teleported into position before Four and Six could take their places. Two was the last to arrive, his whole sleeve twisted in the wrong direction, coming to a stop with an almighty scowl on his face.

"Where's the mission, Father?" Number One asked once they were all assembled.

"There is no mission." Reginald replied harshly. "And it is a good thing there was not. In the time you took to assemble, if there had been any lives at stake, they would have been lost. We will keep practicing until you can be ready on time. Return to your rooms and change into your uniforms. Grace is waiting for you to start today's lessons."

Reginald left the room. The Umbrella Academy stood rooted where he had left them.

"What is w-wrong with these sleeves?" Two suddenly exclaimed, trying to yank on the material again.

"I _know_." Six grumbled, his left arm still feeling uncomfortable compared to the right.

"You heard him, let's get back upstairs." One commanded, leading the way up the staircase.

Five took a deep breath before following, teleporting to the top of the staircase then walking the rest of the way to their rooms.

Six unzipped the back of Four's neck before they parted ways, since he couldn't reach on his own.

It was a relief to get back into his uniform; perhaps the first time Six had ever felt anything close to gratitude for their standard-issue clothes. After having his arm trapped in the suit, having his knees bare to the world actually felt liberating for once.

Once they were ready, they trudged to the classroom – all of them annoyed for differing reasons.

The classroom held seven desks, arranged in a semi-circle around a blackboard Mom was standing before. Seven was already in her seat, eyes focused on her open notebook. As he sat beside her, he noticed she had already written the date and underlined her title for today's session.

"Okay, children." Grace started, once they all got settled in their seats. "Today we will be covering continuing our lesson on the American Civil War."

Six had always found lessons' engaging, preferring them to training sessions and field missions. This morning, however, they were all too keyed up, angry or hurt to pay Grace much attention and it was showing. She called them to attention as much as she could, and they all redoubled their efforts out of fear she would report them to Reginald. No matter how much he tried though, Six did not follow Grace's explanation of the pre-war territorial crisis. He'd never excelled at history, much preferring their literature lessons.

His notes were painfully thin by the time they drew to a close for training, with an assignment to complete by Friday, and Six rushed after Seven in the hopes she would share her more detailed notes with him.

He stopped her on the staircase.

"Hey, Seven. Do you think I could have a look at your notes, I got a little lost in there?"

"Sure." Seven said, pushing her history notebook into his arms.

Six accepted the book and reorganised the stack in his arms to accommodate it. When he looked back up it surprised him to see Seven's back as she hurried away, as they would usually walk back to their rooms together. He hastened after her again, wondering if something was wrong, but was stopped by Four before he could catch up.

"Are we meant to wear those new uniforms to training?" He asked.

"Err, yeah. I think so."

"You _think_ we're meant to wear the new uniforms? Or you _know_ we're meant to wear the new uniforms? Because I don't want to turn up to training and be the only one wearing it. I'd look like an idiot." Four said.

"Yeah." Six replied, shutting the door to his room in his brother's face.

"Rude!" Four shouted.

Changing again, Six took care to get his arms in the sleeves and then went straight to Four's room to see if he needed help. Seeing Two in there already, practically foaming at the mouth, as he tried to get a determinedly unhelpful Four into his gear, Six carried on to Seven's room.

Knocking on the door, he pushed his way inside.

"Seven?"

She was sitting in her desk chair with an open book in front of her. The chair legs were still too high for her, and the toes of her shoes scuffed the floor as she aimlessly kicked them back and forth.

"Hey, Six." She greeted aimlessly, not taking her eyes off the page. Watching her closely he realised she wasn't reading, her eyes remaining stationary on one word.

"I was just wondering what you wanted to talk about earlier?"

"Nothing important."

Her tone was light but not convincing.

"Oh, come on. You've got me curious now." Six encouraged.

"I was just going to ask if you had anything new I could read?" Seven shrugged, picking up his copy of The Aeneid which he'd only finished two days ago. "And to give you this back."

"You finished it already?" Six said incredulously, taking the book from her outstretched hand. "It took me ages to read it."

"I enjoyed it." Seven said. "Plus I have more spare time than you."

"I thought you were working on a new piece of music?" Six asked, conscious of the passing time as Number One hurried past him. He tried to ignore the judgemental look his brother sent him, well aware that Dad was waiting for them downstairs.

She looked surprised that he remembered and confirmed that she was. "But I can only practise for so long before the strings cut into my fingers."

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"No, it's okay. I have calluses now so it takes longer before I risk that, and I stop if it hurts."

Two dashed past him.

"I need to go. But after we finish training do you think you can help me with that exercise Mom set for history? I'm falling behind and need all the help I can get. Plus I have a new book you can borrow. In fact I got a new one today, you can read it first!"

Seven looked flustered by the offer. "T-that's okay, Six. I can wait, I'll just read something old until you're finished with it."

"No it's fine. You read faster than me, anyway. I'll see you this afternoon." He promised, turning around and dashing out of the room.

Thankfully one-to-one training for the day was centred on Three, who was practising her powers on Mom while Dad monitored the effectiveness of her abilities on non-organic life forms. That left the brothers in group training. Today it was an obstacle course around the room with the strict instruction they were to complete it without utilising their powers. Easier said than done, especially once One got frustrated by Two's attempts to outdo him.

He tugged the rope Dad told them to climb too roughly and put a crack in the ceiling's plaster.

"Oh, good job Number One." Five jabbed, going for the second rope which he scaled with ease.

The rest of them forced One to climb last since he had slowed them down by whittling them down to one rope.

Their attempts at teamwork improved briefly while going over the climbing wall, One linking his hands together and launching them over to the other side. For running however, their competitive streaks took over. One and Two determined to beat each other, and both of them determined to beat Five on the one day he wasn't allowed to win by teleporting.

Six tried to keep up with One. Four on the other hand was perfectly content at being last.

While Six hated daily training as much as any member of the Umbrella Academy, he wished Four would put more effort into it. As the only member of the team without a power that could protect him in the field, Six wished Four would apply himself more when it came to physical exercises and hand-to-hand combat training. Six had nearly been stabbed by a robber the other week because he'd been so preoccupied looking out for his brother.

They raced again after training, trying to get to the showers first. Five won, of course, and, if his triumphant cry was anything to go by, Two managed to snag the second bathroom. One was next in line, although he stepped backwards to allow Three to go before him.

Accepting he wasn't getting washed in a hurry, Six went back to Seven to see how she had spent the rest of the morning. He didn't expect to find her in the same place he had left her, and had to fight an unexpected flare of annoyance that she had simply sat and stared into space while Dad ran the rest of them ragged.

"Six." She said, offering a tiny smile which failed to reach her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He easily smiled back, any irritation he had felt evaporating. "There's a queue for the showers so I thought I'd come see you instead."

"Did you want me to talk you through what we learnt in history today? Unless you'd rather wait until this afternoon?"

"No, that's a good idea. If we get it out of the way we can read later instead."

The pair squeezed onto the one desk chair – Seven kindly refraining from commenting on the strong smell of sweat as they pressed against each other's side.

Flipping the textbook open to the right chapter, she asked where he had gotten lost.

"Hmm, well I understood about the expansion into the West and how that caused a problem deciding if the new states should make slavery legal or not," Six said, "but I got lost when she went through the compromise."

"The Compromise of 1850." Seven corrected, finding the relevant page. "It's simple, here."

It was straightforward when Seven explained it. Six wasn't sure if it was because Grace had a tendency to over-complicate her lessons with excessive information, or if he could better concentrate with Seven. Either way he felt more confident about completing the assignment later, especially after Seven let him read through her already finished work.

"Thank you, Seven." He said. "I don't know how you remember all of this stuff, I seem to forget it as soon as the lesson is over."

"I'm surprised, I would have thought you'd enjoy it given how much you love to read. History is a lot like literature." Seven stated. "But instead of the stories being fake, they're real. All of these people," she continued, turning the pages and pointing to images in the book, "are real. And they did incredible things which made a real difference. History is learning their stories. And, unlike characters who are confined to one book, the resources for some of these people are limitless."

"Who's your favourite?" He asked, amused by her enthusiasm.

"In this book? Mary Edwards Walker. She's the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor. I think she's fierce." Seven said, a nervous smile blooming with the declaration.

"I look forward to reading about her." Six said, surprised by his sincerity. He hardly ever looked forward to reading through the history books.

"Six," Five exhaled, waving a hand in front of his face as he entered the room, "go get a shower. You're an affront on Seven's senses."

Seven giggled and Six shot her an accusing look. "Oh I see how it is. Now Five's here you're ganging up on me!"

"If it gets you in the bathroom, yes." Five answered. "Now get going or you'll be late to lunch and, if Dad makes you go the rest of the day without food, don't expect me to risk jumping into the kitchens for you tonight."

He didn't take Five's threat seriously; if Dad deprived him of his dinner Seven would no doubt plead his case, and he'd have a sandwich on his bedside table before light's out.

Maybe Seven had a superpower after all; the power to make Five nice to his other siblings.

"I'm going." Six said, sliding off the chair.

Despite Five's warnings he arrived at the table on time, his hair still damp but it would dry soon enough. Often he brought a book with him to the table, but he'd already promised his newest edition to Seven.

Today's lecture was about some war or other and he tried to focus on it as he tucked into his lunch. He was vaguely aware that to his right Four had devoured his sandwich within a few seconds and seemed to be exerting a lot of energy trying to stay still in his seat while he waited for everyone else to catch up.

He tried not to look over at him, sure it could only get him in trouble.

Once they were dismissed Six learnt why his brother was so excited; he'd found a twenty-dollar bill on the street while they were on a mission that Monday and today he'd decided, with Number Two, that the money was going on sweets. Specifically, donuts.

"I want to be the one who asks the others." Four said, glancing around him to make sure no one was listening. They only had a few moments to themselves between Mom washing the dishes and calling them into the classroom. "So keep it to yourself for now."

"Fine, I won't say a word." Six agreed. It was easy to agree; the thought of Four's plan terrified him and he wanted to keep his hands as clean as possible. They'd gotten away with the excursion to Griddy's once, but he thought they were pushing their luck to try again. They would get caught this time and Dad would be so angry.

They had an hour of science after mealtime, before the team once again returned to training. Seven remained in the classroom, pulling out a French-English dictionary as the others filed out one by one.

"See you later." Six muttered. His sister responded with a tight smile.

Six wondered whether Seven would join them tonight. Three said she hadn't wanted to come the first time they snuck out, although he suspected Three didn't ask her properly. She'd only asked Number Seven because Five had forced her to. Five should have spoken to Seven about it but he thought she'd appreciate the invitation more from Three.

Six would ask her this time. _If_ they went. Which he still largely hoped they wouldn't. While the donuts had been delicious, it didn't seem worth the risk of incurring Father's wrath. Even the thought of Pogo or Mom catching them, staring down at them with an air of disappointment, made his stomach churn.

Yet they were going to go. Four confirmed it later that afternoon.

"Dad is going out tonight, we've just got to get around Pogo. So we'll use the fire escape."

"What if he checks the rooms?" Six asked nervously.

Four's offhanded shrug did nothing to ease his concern. "Just stuff your pillows under the blankets so it looks like you're in there."

"I've still got to ask Five and Seven." Four continued. "Now, do you think Five will be better at convincing Seven to go, or should I go to Seven first so she can convince Five?"

"Tell them that the other has already agreed, then they'll go."

"Good plan. _Sneaky_ plan." Four said approvingly. "Nice one, Six. I'll go talk to Five after we finish training. Then I can catch Ven before dinner."

Five didn't need any convincing to agree to the plan. As Dad had pushed him extra hard during the afternoon's training session, he had evidentially been left in a rebellious mood.

"Yeah, all right. I'll go." He agreed. "Is everyone else in?"

"Yep."

"Even Seven?" Five asked sceptically.

"Yep."

"_Four_."

"_Yes_."

Five maintained eye contact and Four broke.

"Fine, I haven't asked her yet. I was about to though, I swear. Wasn't I, Six? Six will tell you."

"He was. In fact, why don't we all go now?" Six encouraged, not wanting to continue this conversation downstairs where Father or Pogo could spring up behind them at any second.

"Be nice." Five warned Four as they headed upstairs.

"I'm _always_ nice."

"Yesterday you told her she chewed like an overactive beaver."

"Beaver's are cute – that was definitely a compliment." Four argued.

Five and Six shared an exasperated glance, well aware that Number Seven had not taken the comment as a compliment.

Usually Six would knock before entering any of his sibling's rooms, but Five walked in like he owned the place and took a seat on her bed.

It must be something Seven was used to as she barely looked up from her sheet music when she spotted him. The other two, however, brought the piece to a screeching end.

"Yikes, Ven." Four complained, rubbing his ears.

Seven grimaced apologetically, still holding her violin and bow in hand looking unsure of what to do as the three settled in her room.

They all waited in silence for a second before Five rolled his eyes and took over the conversation.

"We're going for donuts tonight. You're coming this time."

"Oh, but..."

"Nope." Five cut her off. "What time are we leaving Four?"

"Ten thirty."

"Excellent. I'll be here at ten _fifteen_ so you'd better be ready." Five told Seven. She was barely able to hold out ten seconds under Five's stern glare before she jerked her head in agreement. "We'll sneak out past Pogo, so make sure you turn your light off and keep quiet until it's time to leave."

"Okay."

"Was there anything else?" Five asked, glancing at Four.

"No. Just that we're meeting at ten thirty in Number One's room."

"Remember to wrap up warm, Ven. It's cold at night." Six reminded.

"I'll go ask Three what I should wear." Four announced. "She hates being reminded that I have normal clothes and she doesn't."

"I'll just go get that book, Ven." Six promised, following Four out the room.

This week Pogo's recommended read was a play called A Doll's House. It was a very thin book and Six knew Seven would devour it within a day. He hoped she enjoyed it more than Treasure Island – he'd given her it a few weeks ago and she hadn't liked that one at all. Though, being Number Seven, she had attempted to point out all of its redeeming features even as she scowled at the pages.

When he arrived back in her room, the door open as he'd left it, he was surprised to find Five and Seven talking quietly to each other on the bed – wrapped up in their own world. The normally sardonic Number Five was speaking gently and had a hand on Seven's shoulder, whose face remained stoic while her eyes seemed to shine with unshed tears.

"It'll be all right, Seven. I'll be there. So will Six."

Six, whose reappearance had gone unnoticed, tapped on the doorframe to draw their attention back to him.

"Are you okay, V?"

Mumbling in affirmation, Seven shuffled away from Five looking embarrassed. She was the only one, Five looked more annoyed than bashful.

Holding the book up to his chest, almost like a shield from Five's glare, Six asked if Seven still wanted to read with him.

"Yes, please."

"Five?" Six asked politely.

"No." He replied tersely. "Thank you. I think I'll go work on that history paper now."

Five turned to look at Seven one more time, silently asking after her and receiving a nod in return. Six watched the exchange, taking Five's place on the bed once the door had been closed.

He stretched out his left arm for Seven to settle into his side and they each took half of the book in their hands to hold between them.

"What's it about?"

"I'm not sure. We'll find out, I guess." Six said dubiously. He wasn't a great lover of plays but if he didn't read them he'd never learn about them, as Father certainly wouldn't take them to a theatre house to see them performed. "Pogo says it's good."

"He said that about Treasure Island too."

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked as they glanced over the character list.

"Yeah."

"Because you don't seem to be." Six pushed.

"I'm nervous about tonight." She admitted as Six turned them to the first page. "I worry I'll ruin everything."

"You won't. We'll have fun." Six reassured, even if he wasn't so sure of that himself.

They focused on the page.

Seven always finished first and would tap the top left corner twice with her finger when she did as a signal to him that she was ready whenever he was.

This time it was Six tapping the top right corner.

"Oh. I finished it already, Six. You can turn the page." She said absently after a moment.

They made their way through the first act before dinner and partway through the second that evening. They were both enjoying it, Seven making the occasional sympathetic noise or comment over Nora's plot. Six was more grateful for the distraction it provided, though his stomach was still in turmoil as the evening drew in.

The first time they had snuck out it hadn't seen as big of a risk. Dad and Pogo were both away and Mom was charging. They'd been able to go out the front door and no one was any the wiser. This time Mom would be up, Pogo would roam the halls, and they had to go down the fire escape without being seen. If they could pull it off it would be a minor miracle, and the older Six got the less he believed in miracles.

Seven grew equally restless as the time came for them to ready themselves for bed and they abandoned the book.

"Should we get into our pyjamas?" Seven asked.

"Yeah." Six agreed, eager to move and _do_ something other than sit and worry. "We don't want to make Pogo suspicious."

Whether Pogo believed their acts of nonchalance, Six wasn't sure. He felt like he had guilt branded across his forehead in a starker fashion than the tattoo inked into his skin.

The children went through the motions of wishing Mother and Pogo goodnight, fighting for a space over the sink to brush their teeth and saying goodnight to one another as they closed their bedroom doors. Then each of them had nothing to do but wait in their rooms for over an hour before they could tiptoe out of the house.

Six waited until Pogo had gone up and down the hallway before changing back into his uniform, pulling on two pairs of socks to keep his legs warm and digging out his scarf, gloves and hat from the dresser. While spring had mercifully arrived, the evenings still felt as cold as a winters day and Six didn't want to spend the entire evening with his teeth chattering.

He wanted to pace the floors but refrained, keeping seated on his bed. With nothing to do, as he couldn't turn the lights back on, he soon found himself swimming in anxiety waiting for the hand to finally drag itself past ten and towards the half hour. The night felt claustrophobic, and Six practically jumped out of his skin when his door opened.

"Four?" He hissed. "You shouldn't be here – it's not time yet. Pogo is still awake."

"I couldn't sit in there any longer." Four said uncomfortably.

It was no secret the middle sibling had a fear of the dark, so Six refrained from chastising him further.

"What are you going to get at Griddy's?" Six asked, trying to extricate themselves from the darker recesses of their minds.

"Chocolate frosted. You?"

"Hmm, I think cinnamon sugar. I didn't try it last time though, I hope I like it."

Four bumped his shoulder as he sat down. "Well, if you don't, I'll finish it for you."

"How very generous." Six said laconically.

If they gave him half the chance Four would probably keep eating donuts until he spewed frosting all over their shoes.

"I like to think so. How many donuts do you think I can get with twenty dollars?"

"I'm sure they'll be plenty for all of us."

"Yeah. Maybe I shouldn't have invited everybody, I think it could be funny trying to eat ten dollars worth of donuts each."

"I could barely stop myself from puking last time, and I only had three."

"They're good though."

"Yeah – I wish Mom could make them at home." Six said.

"But then going to Griddy's wouldn't be special." Four countered.

"I think it's the company that matters more than the food, Four."

"No, it's getting an hour of freedom from this place. I can't _wait_ until I'm old enough to leave, and when I am, I'll never come back. I'll learn how to drive a car and then we can road trip to the other side of the country."

"Maybe we could find somewhere quiet enough that there wouldn't be any ghosts around?" Six suggested.

Four snorted derisively. "I don't think there's anywhere in the world quiet enough to give me that."

"I don't know. Maybe in Alaska. Or on some uninhabited island." Six mused.

"Nah, knowing my luck there'd be a random guy who'd been stranded and died there – and he would just yammer at me day and night about how nobody ever came back for him. Besides, who wants to live on an uninhabited island?" Four said.

Six wouldn't say no.

"I think I need to go somewhere so loud it drowns everything else out. With lots of lights on, all the time."

"You mean like Vegas?" Six said, unimpressed with the direction Four's planning of their future was going.

"I was going to say Reno, but your idea is way better." Four said. "Look, it's nearly ten thirty. Let's go."

Four peeped around the doorframe and, after ensuring there was no Pogo or an exodus of siblings already out in the hallway, he gestured to Six to follow him to Number One's room.

Two and Three were already in there – having snuck in before the designated time.

"Where are the o-others?" Two muttered impatiently as the door shut.

"Dude, relax. It's not even time yet." Four waved him off.

The door softly opened a few minutes later, Five gently pushing Seven into the room and closing the door again. Seven had been bundled in so many layers it was a wonder she could walk under the weight of them all. She had two hats on, whereas Five had none, so Six presumed it was his closest figure who had insisted she wrap up warm.

Two demanded to be the first down the fire escape, followed by Numbers Three, One and Four.

Seven looked out the window a little nervously as it became her turn to descend.

"You'll be fine." Five reassured.

"Yeah," Six hastened to agree, "besides, you're wearing so many clothes even if you fell you'd bounce."

Six was convinced to go next so he could catch Seven if she fell forwards, and Five followed closely behind her. He left the window open just wide enough that their hands could fit under the frame when they came back.

As Seven was the only one who hadn't been to the donut shop before, she hung back in the crowd and allowed everyone else to confidently lead the way.

Once inside Griddy's, Four strode up to the counter with the crumpled twenty in hand, and asked the waitress for an assortment of however many donuts he could afford to buy with it.

The woman looked at them all a little suspiciously, seven thirteen-year-olds in school uniforms wandering the streets at night probably warranted suspicion, but she took the money regardless and promised to bring everything over in a minute.

While the tables were bigger, Four insisted they squeeze into a booth and – as he was paying – everyone had to listen for once.

Six went in first, followed by Four, Seven and Five, all squishing themselves together on one row. Two, Three and One went on the opposite bench, with only slightly more room between them.

"Well this is cosy." Six sighed, his right arm crushed against the wall while his ribs suffered an invasion by Four's elbow.

"Here, I'll get a chair." Five volunteered, pulling one to the head of the table and sitting on it to free up more room.

"So where was Dad going tonight?" Three asked, twirling a curl between her fingers.

There was a consensus around the table that no one knew. Dad didn't exactly run things by them.

"You mean h-he didn't t-tell you? His Number One?" Two teased, laughing as One's ears turned pink.

"Shut up, Two. He didn't tell you either."

The waitress deposited a platter of assorted donuts before them. It was safe to say Four's earlier concerns were unfounded, there was more than enough for the seven of them.

"Enjoy." The waitress said dully, listlessly returning to behind the counter.

Everyone was deciding which donut to take first when Three set her sights on Seven.

"You won't have had a donut before, will you Seven?" She asked, poised to make a suggestion.

"I brought her one last time." Five said, taking a plain jelly-filled donut.

"Me too." Six said, grabbing a cinnamon sugar to try. It wasn't too bad, he decided as he bit into it, but not as nice as the strawberry-frosted donuts he had favoured last time.

He pointed at one on the platter and suggested to Seven she try it.

"They're really good."

She took a bite and grinned wider than he had ever seen her smile before. He took that as a sign of approval.

Four was piling the donuts he wanted on a napkin.

"You're gonna puke if you eat all of those." Six told him, knowing full well he would be ignored.

"I accept your challenge." Four said with all seriousness, setting to work.

"Dude if you vomit on m-me..." Two said in a way Six supposed was intended to be menacing.

"_Dude_," Four drawled, "you have frosting on your nose."

Two swiped his face and grimaced as he came away with a dollop of chocolate frosting.

On that evening no one puked, although Six felt the eldritch creatures stir uncomfortably as they ambled back towards the house.

Four was on a major sugar high and was skipping ahead, with a tight grip of Three's hand to drag her alongside him. One marched to keep up, with Two was attempting to imitate him straight face and all – however he kept barking out a laugh every other step, unable to control himself.

"My stomach hurts." Seven moaned, even though she had eaten the least out of everyone.

"Nearly home." Five consoled, urging her to keep walking.

"What time is it?" Six asked uneasily. He'd kept one eye on the clock throughout their visit and even though they had left as soon as their platter of donuts was empty, he worried that they'd stayed out too long.

"Eleven twenty." Five informed him. "It's fine, we're not getting caught."

"Caught?" Seven interjected apprehensively, the only word of the boy's conversation that she had heard.

"We're not getting caught." Five said, his voice more soothing when directed at Seven than it had been to Six. "Besides. If Dad _is_ waiting up for us, I'll teleport you upstairs so he won't know you were there too. I'm about fifty percent sure I can do it without you losing a limb."

"You're gonna save Seven and leave the rest of us to get thrown under the bus?" Six asked incredulously.

"Saving Seven could comprise losing a limb, Six. I wouldn't feel jealous." Seven muttered, though Five's promise seemed to have eased her fears.

One went up the fire escape first, holding the window open from the fire escape as he ushered everyone else inside.

They decided from there they should take it in turns returning to their individual rooms, so as not to draw too much attention.

Number Three went first after thanking Four for the treat, peeking her head outside before scuttling off to her room. Her door audibly shut behind her so the rest waited several minutes before attempting to leave again.

Two went next. As the sugar wore off, he'd grown increasingly sluggish and One was determined he wasn't staying in his room for the night.

"I should get to go next. Tonight was _my_ idea." Four said, raising his hand. The others hushed him but agreed it was best he went before he got the giggles again.

"Five why don't you just jump?" One asked, getting annoyed by how long it was taking everyone to get out of his room.

"Not until everyone's back in their rooms without being caught." He replied, looking up from One's model planes which he'd been idly toying with.

"Seven and I will go at the same time." Six said decided, knowing how fast arguments could break out between One and – well One and anyone, but Five was the best at getting under his skin.

"We will?" Seven asked anxiously. Their rooms were the furthest from One's and the closest to Pogo's.

"Yeah." Six said with more confidence than he felt. He linked their arms together, hoping they could each give the other the reassurance they needed to get back to their beds.

"Go carefully." Five warned, hovering in the doorway to watch their progress before jumping to his own room.

Six was slowly leading Seven to her bedroom when a creak in the stairs forced them to hurry, Six shutting himself inside Seven's room where they both stood in silence beside the door too scared to move.

There were some shuffled footsteps however no raised voices were heard and eventually the figure retreated. The pair sighed lightly in relief.

"Do you want to stay here?" Seven asked.

"No I need to go get changed, I can't get found in my uniform." Six sighed. He would have much rather stayed with Seven; after all the sugar and anxiety surrounding their excursion he felt too keyed up to sleep and would have liked to keep reading A Doll's House with her. "I'll wait a minute to make sure it's all clear, then I'll go."

Seven agreed. He turned to face the door so she could get changed, softly laughing when he finally turned around and saw how badly the hats had messed up her hair.

"All right." She muttered. Seven attempted to tame her static hair, however it seemed determined to crackle around her. "I didn't even want to wear a hat, but Five seems to think I can't handle a light breeze."

"It _was_ cold." Six said in his brother's defence. His own raw hands were a testament to that. Four had commandeered his gloves at the diner, having failed to wrap up for the weather.

"Hmm." Seven exhaled, getting under her sheets. She patted the space beside her and, after pulling off his shoes, Six sat. "It's nice that someone in this house cares, but sometimes it reminds me of how much weaker I am then the rest of you."

"You're not weak." Six refuted. "You're just like any other thirteen-year-old. _We're_ the freaks of nature, here."

He could tell he hadn't cheered her up, but he was too anxious about getting back to his own room to think of anything truly comforting to say.

While Five liked to try and hand Seven off to Six when she was upset or frustrated, Six never quite knew what to say to her. He liked to think she knew that he cared but, while Five would never admit it to himself, Six didn't understand the inner workings of Seven's mind in quite the same way as his brother did. Six could sometimes say the wrong thing when he was being offhanded. Five was never offhanded, thinking everything through carefully, usually aware how Seven would react.

Six was better with Four, who could easily be comforted by a hug, a silly face or an inappropriate joke. Four always simply stated when he was happy or upset or scared or angry. With Seven it felt like she wasn't even a hundred percent sure how she was feeling.

"Are we going to keep reading tomorrow?" Seven asked quietly.

"Of course. Reading with you is the best – no one else will read these things with me. I can only get Four to read if it's a comic book." Six said, rolling his eyes slightly. It never failed to surprise him that the brother he seemingly shared the least with had ended up as his best friend.

"Thanks, Six. I enjoy reading with you too." Seven said happily.

"I'll let you sleep now, it's late." Six excused, standing from the bed.

"Good luck, Six."

"Thanks, Seven. And hey, you wouldn't really have jumped with Five and left me to face Dad on my own would you?"

Seven shook her head. "No, I wouldn't leave you."

Grinning, Six stole out of the room and hastened back to his own with a held breath and his heart lodged in his throat. He could only breathe again once he was in his pyjamas and under his own blankets.

* * *

I have done so much writing this month I think I'm getting carpel tunnel - I'm closing in on 50,000 words editing for my book (all uploaded to Inkitt if anyone is interested in giving it a read), I wrote this (chapter two is already done too (I started the second chapter first because I'm weird like that) and the third chapter has been started), and then I've been writing for work. I'm glad I was able to get another TUA story done this month, I still love these characters and love writing them. As always let me know what you think - Ben's new for me and I'm unsure how well I characterised him. I know in her book Vanya said he was quite nervous as a child.

The next chapter is going to be a lot more introspective, as I expect from adult Ben. I hope to get it published sometime next week. Have a good weekend 3


	2. Bavarian Cream-Filled

Saturday had finally arrived.

Ben had watched his siblings' excitement build as they inched towards the day. Allison was perhaps the most enthusiastic of all, happy that Vanya had accepted her invitation to join them at Griddy's for the evening. She'd been trying the hardest to initiate a newly improved friendship with Vanya, however after spurning her so many times in childhood Number Seven was naturally suspicious.

It wasn't the same for Five. And Ben, to an extent – although she still seemed somewhat skittish around him.

He couldn't blame her. Despite their relatively close friendship he knew there had been times he'd hurt her. The worst part was he usually knew that he had hurt her but, despite knowing, he hadn't always apologised with words. He tried to convey his regret by giving her his books or going to sit beside her on the library couches but, as he had been raised on the belief that Seven was powerless, he really shouldn't have expected her to be a mind reader. Unfortunately in the Hargreeves family only Seven knew how to say sorry, using it all too often and never hearing it back.

Returning to their childhood – or in Ben's case returning from the grave – felt like a blessing from Five. Giving them the chance to fix their old mistakes with each other. Except they were already thirteen years into those mistakes and Seven had a long memory.

She remembered them curling up together to talk about their favourite books and any plot twists they had both enjoyed in whatever it was they were currently working through. And then she remembered him telling her she couldn't go on missions without powers or the times he had chosen his brothers over her to play. Over the last decade when he had thought about his sister he could only picture her with two expressions: one where she shyly hid behind her bangs with a timid smile gracing her face and one of thinly veiled hurt as yet another door was slammed in her face. When he'd seen her again, a regrettable rarity given Klaus' general avoidance of anything connected to the Academy, she looked tired and lonely.

He'd tried encouraging Klaus to reach out to her a few times since his death, well aware that with both him and Five gone she would have no one to look out for her. At first he thought it would be perfect – Klaus could look after Vanya, Vanya could look after Klaus. He couldn't picture Vanya slapping the needles out of Klaus' hands as Ben often wished he could, but it would be nice if Klaus could stick with a corporeal person who would be capable of calling an ambulance if he overdosed again. There were days when he felt like he was making headway, Klaus even thought about couch surfing at her apartment for a few days, but then _the book_ (as they all collectively referred to Vanya's autobiography as) had hit the shelves.

Klaus had scraped together enough money to buy a copy, and the pair had read it together. Within two chapters Klaus was ready to burn it, the memories it brought of their time in Umbrella Academy made him want to dig his own grave to escape them, but Ben forced him to persist with it so he could read it in its entirety. It was the first book they read together since his death, although as he hovered over Klaus' shoulder all he could picture was reading with Vanya. His sister who he would sit beside with a shared book between them. The girl who read faster than him but always waited patiently for him to finish before turning the page. A part of him was delighted that she had written a book and, for a first novel, was proud of how well written it was. The content of said book however, soured that pride. She had ripped the illusion of the Umbrella Academy away, showing the world for the first time what the children had known all along. They weren't a crime fighting family; they were lab experiments forced to dress up in matching uniforms and smile for the cameras. She offered up their pain for consumption. Vanya grabbed the dormant spotlight and shone it over their heads once more, except then the light was harsher than it had been during the six's glory days and showed every ugly imperfection. The Umbrella Academy was never what their Father had made them out to be. It was an unspoken tragedy the world tried to forget almost as soon as the reality was exposed.

The book had also made him confront for the first time the fact he had always known about Number Seven; that beneath that tentative smile and tucked away behind those hurt eyes, was a bitter resentment that grew with every year. When he had been younger, it had been easy to pass the blame along to someone else. After all, it was their Father who was so insistent that they stay separate from ordinary Number Seven. The powerless girl who would get hurt if they didn't keep her out of their dangerous world.

After puberty it became harder to take that line. Until his disappearance Five had managed to be her friend. Granted his ability to teleport came in great use with that, enabling him to sneak away from Dad's watchful gaze. His brother was also far more brazen than him, arguing with Dad when he made a hurtful comment about Vanya's ordinariness. God, back then even Luther was braver than him. Ben had done whatever he was told and Vanya had exposed that to the world once all those years of bitterness finally boiled over, and she could contain it no longer.

He'd memorised the line that had indicted his entire childhood:

_The kindest of my siblings, but he was so eager to please Father. He was easily manipulated, dragged into Father and Luther's little games – and those two simply let him die._

He didn't know what hurt the most. That she had written the words or that the words were true.

Whenever conversations between the siblings got tense, he'd slide into the background, usually with Seven unless she was the focus of the argument. At the dinner table he'd stick his nose in a book. When Diego, and sometimes Klaus, made fun of Vanya behind her back – or worse, to her face – he might manage a quiet 'stop it'. Klaus had eventually wheedled him out of his shell, only for death to halt his progress.

Number One often received the most criticism for being Father's most faithful acquisition, but Ben couldn't hide the fact anymore that in childhood he would easily follow any order to avoid bringing Dad's wrath upon him. He'd even feared upsetting his siblings', his teammates.

With his renewed life he was determined never to refrain from speaking his mind again. He wouldn't watch with sad eyes if Klaus slipped out at night to get high, there would be no passive watching of Luther and Diego's explosive rows, no flippant comment from Allison that wouldn't receive a retort, and if _anyone_ slammed a door in Vanya's face they were getting bitch slapped by the eldritch.

In a way, after everything that had transpired, he felt like he should thank Vanya for writing the book. For enabling him to confront some hard truths about himself. He knew his siblings' didn't see it that way – even in the apocalypse's aftermath, seeing the results of the years of isolation Vanya had endured – they still considered Extra Ordinary to be a betrayal. In spite of the opportunity they had been gifted, some of them still seemed unwilling to admit to the past blunders the book had exposed.

Although, unlike the others, there was more in the book he could appreciate. While Ven had been scathing about Ben's deference to Dad and Luther, most likely still feeling resentment at the time of writing over the manner of his death, a lot of the memories she had shared about him had been kind.

A lot of them he hadn't even remembered until he'd read about what she considered some of her most treasured memories, which only deepened his sense of shame. They were such simple memories too: sitting under a tree in the courtyard eating pastries Mom had made them; sharing a bed when the Horror wouldn't settle in Ben's chest or Vanya would dream of Father sending her away; sneaking into Luther's room when he was in private practice to quietly listen to some of his more tolerable albums.

Funnily Ben's favourite memory of Number Seven hadn't made her book. Whether she had forgotten it or had protected it from public consumption, he wasn't sure. He'd have to ask her once she remembered.

Allison couldn't wait for the day to come. And, after a poorly attended family meeting (poorly attended as only the lower numbers were invited), it had been decided that Saturday would be that day. Because, despite everything the family had talked about after arriving in their past, they had decided to use the excursion to Griddy's to tell Seven about the future after Five failed to live up to his promise to do so.

Ben didn't think it would go well. Actually, he thought it would be a disaster.

Five didn't even know it was going to happen, something Ben was determined to rectify once he could figure out where he was. Given he was also having trouble finding Vanya, he suspected they were holed up together.

Five had no problem reintegrating into Seven's life. Ben was almost jealous; personally he felt like he was fighting an uphill battle. Granted he had it easier than everyone else – yesterday when Luther offered her the last cookie Mom had made, Seven reached for it so tentatively it was almost like she was waiting for him to bite her hand off. In fact she had tried to refuse it entirely until the table encouraged her, a surprising reaction which had turned her eyes into the size of the dinner plate the cookie was sitting on.

Still, he felt like there was a sudden wall between them. Back in the day Ben had always relied on Seven to be his quiet companion, the only one of his fellow Academy members he could count on not to shout at him, knock the books out of his hands with an insistence he come and play, or call him the Horror when the monsters under his skin would writhe impatiently. There had been times she had been busy with Five and had shown deference for Five over Ben (he'd had always suspected the two held a soft spot for each other back in the day) but he hadn't minded as he had Klaus to turn to.

But in the new timeline Ben _yearned_ for his sister. He wanted to make her feel like a part of the team and to ensure she knew they all cared about her.

And, if he was being frank, having spent twelve years with solely Klaus to talk to Ben was more than ready for some new company. Especially someone he shared so much in common with.

Now they could even share in the terror their powers could bring.

Starting off easy, Ben had turned up to her room with new books in his hands. He'd always been an avid reader, getting through one a week, but in his current literature starved state he was typically reading one every other day unless he was in private training which meant he had plenty to offer her. Remembering her old preferences, he'd even gone to Pogo to seek books she would enjoy more.

Seven always accepted the books, but she seemed loathe to chat, looking relieved whenever Five would appear and break up the conversation. And Five _always_ appeared – it was like he had a sensor for whenever someone would approach Seven unsupervised.

So he resumed asking her to share a bed, Extra Ordinary suggesting to him she had always treasured those moments when she felt like she was being picked above the others. If he was honest, he did it for himself too. For reasons Ben had never figured out, the creatures he possessed seemed to like Vanya's company and if they were ever proving difficult, her presence seemed to soothe them. Perhaps they had been able to sense something in her that the Academy never had.

Klaus on the other hand had a tendency to make them coil uncomfortably, perhaps as he had a habit of poking them when he got bored – Number Four had had a death wish for almost as long as Ben could remember.

She always welcomed him into the room but would immediately settle down to sleep and seemed to jump whenever they came into contact with each other. He wondered if in her timeline he'd recently upset her, however his mind failed to provide anything to support this.

"Stop that." Ben groaned, pushing Klaus' fingers away. He'd been snapping them in front of his face. "Your hands smell weird."

"I snagged some fruit roll-ups when we went out on that last mission. I still have some, if you want one?"

"No thanks." His taste buds were almost sensitive after twelve years of death; he didn't think he could handle something yet that was so relentlessly sweet.

Klaus flopped on the couch beside him, jostling Ben from his comfortable pondering position.

"You look constipated." He said, helpful as always.

"Thank you, Four."

"You're welcome, Six." Klaus replied with an equally saccharine tone, batting his eyelashes for good measure.

"Have you seen Five?"

Scrunching his face, Klaus declared Ben was being: "Rude! Why would you want Five when you have _me_? Is this any way to treat your favourite brother?"

"This brother?" Ben said, flicking Klaus on the forehead. "_Absolutely_."

Klaus pulled a face but still answered Ben's question. "I saw Five heading upstairs after training but I haven't seen him since then. Why?"

"I wanted to talk to him about the plan for tonight."

"Ugh, you're not still worrying about that are you?" Klaus groaned. "It will be _fine_. We'll hash it out, eat way too many donuts, then skip back home before the old bastard realises that we're gone. Simples."

"We should tell Five, he needs to know. And you should have told me too – why didn't you tell me there was a family meeting?"

"They said it was a secret."

"Great – the _one_ time you keep a secret. It couldn't have been when I told you I finally got my pubes?"

"It was a monumental moment."

"But did you _have_ to tell the mailman about it?" Ben moaned, holding up his hands before Klaus could respond. "Look, I think we need to tell Five about tonight. Or, better yet, rethink the whole plan."

"Why?"

"I don't think it's the best way to tell her."

"Why?"

"This is _Number Seven_. How many times did we play pranks on her? Or exclude her from what was happening and then make sure she _knew_ she was being excluded because she was 'ordinary' and needed to learn to stay out of our way? If we go up to her as a group and tell her she has powers, she'll think we're just being cruel."

"_Why_?"

"Because we _were_ cruel to her."

"Why?"

Ben growled in irritation. "Will you stop saying that?"

"Why?"

Slapping him on the back of the head, truly savouring the ability to do so, elicited a pitiful whine but seemed to make Klaus take the conversation more seriously.

"Ugh, fine. How do you suggest we stop her from thinking that?"

"By not ganging up on her. By letting someone she trusts at this age tell her about the future. Someone like _Five_ – as _originally_ planned."

"Look, don't over think it. We've just got to rip the Band-Aid off. Once she knows the truth, we can help her control her powers and then the crisis will be averted. No muss, no fuss."

"No, but," Ben caught his arm, as Klaus tried to spring up from the couch, "there _will_ be muss. So they'll also be a fuss. You, you _do_ get that, right?"

"Don't over think it, mi amigo. You'll give yourself stress lines." Klaus said, fighting to extricate himself from Ben's tight grip – nearly losing his jacket in the process. "Now, if you will _excuse me_, I am going to go braid Three's hair."

"While you're there, tell her I think her plan smells like farts."

"Will do, Scooby Doo." Klaus eagerly agreed, giving him a small salute before scampering off.

Ben dejectedly closed his eyes for a moment, wishing that when he opened them Five would have jumped in the room and would be willing to share the family brain cell for an hour or two. Unfortunately his wish went unanswered, so he had to get off his ass and go find the Academy's grandpa on his own.

He covered the first floor, the training room, library and then the kitchen. Next to the children's wing, glancing in Five and Seven's rooms. Along the corridor to the music room. He paused, hoping Vanya might play her violin and the sound could lead him to her – and respectively to Five.

There was no music and, after poking his head into the music room, he saw her violins' were where they were supposed to be. Meaning she hadn't taken her beloved instrument to wherever it was Five holed her away when the children had free time.

"Fuck." He muttered, following the hallway with his ears straining to hear the slightest sliver of conversation. It was only when he got to the last room he thought he heard whispers and chanced glancing into the room.

The guestrooms had been unused for as long as the seven had lived in the house. It seemed a waste really. Especially given how much larger they were than the children's rooms, with generously sized beds and the occasional en suite.

Nineteen bathrooms in the house and the children had to share two.

"Hey, Five?" He called as he opened the door, the murmurs instantly ceasing.

Five and Vanya were sat on the bed, crossed legged facing one another, with a stack of books piled between them. Five pulled a face.

"What?" He asked, his tone sharp.

Vanya batted his arm in reproach. Five looked at her with one eyebrow raised, unimpressed by her weak slap.

Ben cleared his throat, drawing their attention back to him. He felt like he'd breached some kind of bubble in which only those two could exist. He felt like he should apologise.

"Five, I need to talk to you for a minute."

"About what?"

Hesitating, Ben weighed up what he could say – all too conscious of Seven's sad eyes affixed to his face. If he said it was mission related, she'd feel excluded. He could lie and say it was to do with Klaus but Klaus would never back up that lie. Plus Seven would still feel excluded.

"Guy stuff."

Five's glare bored into his skull and Ben wished he could disappear back into the hallway behind him. Seven just looked uncomfortably between the two, watching the two boys cautiously as they remained silently staring at each other.

"Guy stuff?" Five finally said, a lilt to his voice as if he were asking Ben to redact the statement.

Sadly Ben had nothing else rattling around in that head of his. Why did his overactive mind always have to abandon him right when he needed it the most?

"_Yep_."

With a weighty sigh, Five shot Seven a smile that was all teeth. "Wait here for me, okay?"

She nodded silently, her eyes tracking them out of the room.

Ben led the way into another guestroom several doors down from the one Seven was occupying, where he thought she wouldn't be able to overhear them.

"What the _fuck_ was that?" Five cried as soon as Ben had closed them in.

Grimacing, he apologised. His cheeks felt like they were burning. "I'm so sorry, I couldn't think of anything else and I needed to talk to you alone."

Five's mouth opened as if to retort, but words seemed to fail him. Running a heavy hand through his hair he turned his back on Ben.

"Look, there's something you need to know. The others – they're planning something for tonight."

"What are they planning?" Five muttered impatiently.

"To tell Seven about the future."

Uttering a string of curses under his breath, Five met his eyes. "We've had this conversation before."

"I know." Ben said, agreeing.

"We agreed that I would tell her when the time was right."

"_I know_. I _still_ agree with you."

"Why am I only just finding out about this? I thought we agreed we all needed to work together?"

"They had a 'family meeting'." Ben scoffed, making air quotes around the term. "Without me. Or you. Or Seven. Or any of the adults. Although that last one might have been a good idea. But either way, I don't think they can call it a family meeting when there's only four of us present."

"Well you need to talk them out of it."

"_Me_?" Ben whined.

"I've been trusting you to keep an eye on them while I'm with Vanya. You're the responsible adult, Ben. You have to watch them."

"But, well, they're _sneaky_."

Five sent him a withering look.

"Hey, I'm not their watcher. Besides, they met while I was in one-to-one training with Dad. Which was _awful_ by the way. Thanks for asking."

"At least you're not being drugged into oblivion."

"Sometimes I wish I was." He said flippantly.

Ben caught Five's livid expression and hastened to justify his comment. "Oh, come on, if you possessed monsters which can literally tear you apart wouldn't you want rid of them? Don't you think Klaus would have appreciated drugs which made the dead people who terrorise him every day disappear?"

Sneering, Five pushed himself up into Ben's face. "You think those pills just got rid of her powers? They ate her from the inside out until there was barely a scrap of personality left. You were with her longer than I was – when did you see her laugh, _properly_ laugh? Or stand up for herself? Those pills scooped out her powers and everything that makes her who she is and left her as a docile pet for Dad to tame. Do you want that for yourself? To be left as an empty shell only capable of feeling sadness and rejection? Because maybe we can arrange a trade."

Blinking, Ben shook his head.

"So. Why haven't you told her yet?" He asked cautiously, not wanting Five to berate him again on Vanya's behalf.

Five just scowled at him.

"I mean, the sooner you tell her the sooner she gets off the pills. That's what you want right?"

"I thought you agreed with me!" Five snapped.

"I _do_." He insisted, maintaining a confident facade until it crumbled away leaving him sheepish. "But why _haven't_ you told her yet? It's been weeks since we decided."

"Don't blame me. If you assholes hadn't fucked with her so much I could have told her as soon as we landed." Five shook his head. "You know as soon as they tell her, she'll be heartbroken right?"

"Yes." There was no escaping the conclusion in his mind.

"Jesus fucking Christ." Five murmured, pacing the room.

"Maybe you and I should tell her together. This afternoon." Ben suggested.

"No."

Ben sighed. "Why not?"

"It still won't go well." Five said.

"You've spent loads of time with her since we came back. You do it. She must trust you."

"No." Five maintained. "It can't be this way, she's not ready yet. We can't change things if we keep expecting her to bend to our will."

"Then what do we do?"

"Go to the others and talk them out of it."

"They won't listen." Ben said bleakly. "I couldn't even get Klaus to agree with me. I'll never persuade Allison or Luther. Even Diego won't change his mind, and he'll usually agree to anything Luther is against."

"Don't get me started on that shit show." Five complained. "Look, just _try_."

"All right, let's go."

"No, I need to stay with Vanya."

"Why?" Ben asked, his frustration showing. "What are you two doing? You're always holed up together, it's driving Allison crazy."

It was driving them all crazy to varying degrees. They came back for Vanya. Five said they would fix her. And yet between Dad and Five none of them could get near her for more than a few minutes before being interrupted. How could they ever change the timeline if they couldn't get close enough to her to fix their relationships?

"Dad increased her pill dosage a few weeks before we jumped back. She's still dealing with the effects. I'm trying to help her." Five explained.

"He did?" Ben said, feeling ashamed with himself once more for failing to notice what Seven was going through. They all felt they were watching her closely and yet none of them had noticed an extra pill at mealtimes. None of them except Five.

"One pill a day to two. It's making it difficult for her to concentrate. You must have noticed, she can barely keep up in class."

That explained why she was struggling so much with the trigonometry homework the other day.

"She's tired a lot of the time. It will make it more difficult in the long run – weaning her off them. But we need to. She can't go cold turkey again like she did last time, it releases too much power too fast. And we all need to be prepared to help her train, need to figure out how we're going to do it without the old man finding out."

"We need Dad's notebook for that." Ben said. "We're not even a hundred percent sure what all of her powers are – Allison mentioned something about the weather, and then I caught the light show at the concert hall. God, could you imagine if she'd had these powers as a kid how easy missions would have been? I wonder why Dad suppressed them, you'd think he'd be thrilled to have someone so powerful?"

"He was scared of her. He _is_ scared of her. Have you heard him? The only time he ever talks to her is to ask her to be his assistant, to tell her she's ordinary, or to ask if she's taken her pills. His entire engagement with her is designed to make her as passive as possible. He even drafted us all in to help, and we were too stupid to realise what he was doing." Five said indignantly.

"I remember wondering about the pills. Now I hate myself for not questioning it more. I should have asked why she was on them, I should have thought about it instead of writing it off as one of Seven's weaknesses." Ben said, bitter and ashamed. "I guess Vanya was right about me."

"What do you mean?"

"Her book – _Extra Ordinary_. You read it right?"

"Yeah, in the apocalypse. It's how I found out you were dead. She didn't go into much detail though. Except that she seemed to think it was Dad and Luther's fault."

Ben flinched. "I'm glad she didn't describe it. But when she wrote about me she said I was eager to please Dad and easily manipulated. She also said I was the kindest sibling, so it wasn't all punches. I don't think I ever realised how pissed she was until I read that book."

"I'm glad she did it – I'm glad she wrote it." Five shrugged, before stating matter-of-factly, "It was my only source of information for what the Academy had been up to since I 'disappeared'. If she hadn't written it, I might have wasted weeks searching the rubble for your body."

Ben blanched at that, his mouth opening to ask Five about that unspoken topic in their team that was post-apocalyptic life.

Seeing his intentions, Five headed for the door.

"Oh, hey. Wait, a minute." Ben called, stopping Five before he could leave the room.

"I swear to god, if you actually say something about _guy stuff_ I'll..."

"No. No, no, no, no, no. _No_." He said hastily, racing to cut Five off. That would be horrifying. And that was coming from a boy nicknamed The Horror.

"I was just wondering if you know if I've upset Seven somehow?"

Five looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Well she's been skittish around me ever since we arrived and I was wondering if I – well, past me – said something to her before our consciousnesses arrived back." His brow furrowed. He was confusing himself. "I know I wasn't the worst out of us all when it came to Seven, but I also know I could be a jerk sometimes. I thought if I had upset her she might have told you about it?"

"Seven never told me when someone upset her." Five grumbled. "I'd only find out if I found her crying or one of you told me."

Five had never been great at social cues, but it surprised Ben that Seven wouldn't have told him if she were upset. If she didn't tell Five, then who did she talk to?

"So she hasn't mentioned anything?"

"No."

"Oh." Ben said, disappointedly.

"What?" Five prompted, glancing at the door. He was eager to get back to Seven.

"I was just excited to be back with her again. I mean you try only having Klaus for company for twelve years." He joked. "I thought it wouldn't be so bad, even if I do have to pretend not to know about the future. We'd always been fairly close – not as close as you two – but I didn't think I'd have such a hard time connecting with her again. Ever since we came back though, it almost feels like there's a wall between us and she's not letting me get through."

Five stared at him impassively for a second before shrugging. "Maybe you did piss her off. Why don't you try asking her about it? But _after_ you talk to the others."

Ben watched him leave dumbly. It hadn't occurred to him to ask. Then again it was habit. Seven never told them how she was feeling; they never asked in return. The only time she ever let him into her pain was when they'd curl up in a shared bed, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling feeling too scared to close them. So they'd talk instead about the nightmares that plagued them.

He had hoped to replicate those times in the past month, but Seven would quickly fall asleep beside him before he could work up the courage to talk to her.

Hopping off the bed, Ben resolved to get his hopeless task over and done with so he could talk to Seven before tonight.

Hurrying to Allison's room, he found her and Klaus sat on the bed chatting and asked them to wait there while he retrieved Luther and Diego.

Diego he found in the training room, taking out the day's frustration on a helpless punching bag. It took some convincing to get him to agree to go wait upstairs, but Diego eventually conceded.

Luther was curled up in the library, something Ben hadn't expected – only glancing inside just to rule it out. He'd plucked an introductory book to astrophysics from the shelves and was staring at it with a mixture of frustration and a strong dose of determination etched upon his brow.

"Number One?" Ben asked, calling out as he approached.

Blinking up at him, Luther asked if everything was all right.

"Yeah, I'm just gathering everyone in Three's room. Will you come too?"

"Sure, Six." Luther agreed, placing a small bookmark in the book before returning it to the shelf.

"Why were you reading about astrophysics?"

Luther scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "Do you promise not to laugh?"

"Sure." Ben said, crossing his fingers behind his back just in case.

"Well I've been thinking about what I'm going to do now, when I grow up. And I still want to go to space, but properly this time, not to a station Dad owns. So I'm trying to get better at science. That way I can apply to NASA. Nowadays they mostly send engineers up there, so I need to get better at this science stuff."

Ben nodded in approval. "That's a smart move, One. Hey, if you need any help with that you should ask Five. Maybe he could tutor you?"

Luther snorted. "Yeah, I can't see that happening. Besides, even if he agreed we'd end up fighting within minutes. I wouldn't immediately get it, so he'd call me stupid."

"Then you'd overreact, even though Five is that way with everyone, and throw him into a wall." Ben finished for him.

"Something like that." Luther said, having the grace to look embarrassed.

"Well I guess I can always help. Although that stuff usually went over my head too. Seven might be better than me, she could always follow Five's theorising longer than anyone else could. She's quite good at physics, but I think she did better in chemistry."

Making their way along the children's hallway, Ben opened the door and ushered Luther inside.

"What's going on, Ben?" Allison asked, once the door was shut. She was still on the bed with Klaus, her hands spread on her things while the nail polish dried.

"You can't tell Vanya tonight." Ben stated. "Tonight should be about including her in something that involves all of us. We need more times like that to build her trust, before we can spring this on her. It's a bad idea."

They clambered to disagree.

"No, we can't keep this up..."

"It'll hurt her more if she finds out we've hidden it for so long..."

"Rip off the band-aid, Ben."

"I agree with him." Luther said, silencing the bunch.

"What?" Allison asked indignantly.

Luther looked momentarily uncertain under Allison's stare, but upheld his resolve. "I think he has a point. Look, I always had the worst relationship with Seven. I don't think I even realised how bad it was until we came back – whenever I walk into the room it's like she tries to shrink away from me. If I'm there when we tell her about the future she'll think it's a prank on her."

"You agreed with me during the family meeting." Allison said.

"Can we stop calling it a 'family meeting'? Three of us were missing."

Ben's interjection was universally ignored.

"If you want to go through with this, I can't stop you." Luther continued. "But in that case I shouldn't be there."

"Thank you, Luther." Ben said, taken aback. He couldn't remember a single instance in their past when he had Number One's support. It felt, in a weird way, like an accomplishment.

"Let me know what you decide."

Allison watched Luther leave with unfathomable eyes.

"I still think we should do it." Klaus declared. "I want her to remember. We just have to trigger her memory and it'll all come back, right?"

"In theory." Ben clarified. "We don't know that for sure."

"Well what's the worst thing that can happen?" Diego said. "If she doesn't believe us, we'll just take her off the pills and she'll see for herself what she can do."

"We need to do that carefully. We can _only_ do it once she remembers, and she accepts our help with training. Otherwise we risk her powers spiralling out of control."

"And Vanya might hurt someone." Allison murmured.

"Exactly."

"I want her to know now."

Ben looked at Allison's sombre expression.

"This isn't about what we want. The first time around was too much about us, we can't fall into old patterns. We need to think about what's best for Seven, not ourselves. I know you all want her to remember – so do I – but we need to rebuild her belief in us first. And that will take time. Like it or not."

His siblings were uncharacteristically quiet.

"Look, I'll know what you decide if Luther turns up tonight. But if you tell Vanya, ignoring everything Five and I have said, and it goes badly, don't expect us to share in the blame. I want a better relationship with my sister this time and I will not let anything or anyone fuck that up." Ben said, letting the door fall shut behind him as he left to find Seven.

* * *

The next chapter is only partway started, I'm hoping to work on it over the Easter weekend and post it next week - it's going to be from Vanya's POV in this chapter's timeline, picking up where this chapter left off. I'm miles ahead on my NaNoWriMo count (approaching 60,000 words) so I should have plenty of time to focus on some fanfic instead. As always please let me know what you think - I felt a bit more confident writing adult Ben than kid Ben but I still worry I made him too introspective. Also I'm not the funniest of people so I hope any attempts I made at humour within the chapter didn't fall too flat ':D


	3. Strawberry Filled

Slipping into the room, her eyes narrowed in annoyance as she found Five sleeping peacefully. It hardly seemed fair when she had spent the night tossing and turning, her mind descending into a complete panic.

Closing the door behind her she crossed over to his bedside.

"Five." Vanya whispered, her tone urgent as she shook his shoulder. "Five, wake up."

"Alarm's not gone off yet," he murmured tiredly, batting away her hand, "go back to sleep."

He shuffled sideways to make room for her on the bed but otherwise kept his eyes closed, resolute he was not waking up.

"Five!" She hissed. Ignoring his half-hearted slaps she continued to shake and prod him until he conceded defeat and cracked open one eye to look at her.

"_What_?"

"We have a problem."

Apparently that was all she had to say in the first place. Five shot up from the bed, his eyes now wide and alert.

"The others are planning to tell me tonight."

The pair stared into each other's eyes, frustration written across their faces.

"Why do those fuckers never listen to me?" Five eventually exclaimed.

"I overheard them, they met yesterday afternoon for a family meeting..."

"Family meeting?" He cut her off. "I wasn't invited."

"Neither was Ben..."

"Then how can they call it a family meeting?" Five asked indignantly.

"_Five_." Vanya whined to draw his attention back to her. "They knew you and Ben wouldn't agree."

"Did Klaus go?"

Vanya sighed. "Yes."

"Those fuckers."

"Yes, they are." She impatiently agreed, eager to get him back on track. "How are we going to handle this?"

"What did you overhear?"

"Well, they said they'll wait until we're about to head home from Griddy's, tell me you perfected time travel..."

"Perfected might be a bit strong." Five said with a pleased smirk.

Unimpressed, she asked: "Are you trying to be modest right now?"

"I thought I was doing quite well."

"It needs work." She retorted with a smile.

Vanya slid into the free spot on his bed and continued her story. "_Anyway_. They'll tell me we all travelled back from the future and that I have amnesia. Then they plan to tell me about the apocalypse and how I started it, how I have powers, how I've always had powers and Reginald has been suppressing them since we were young. _Then_ they think after telling me all of this I'll miraculously remember everything, we'll have a big group hug and I'll become a member of the Umbrella Academy." She exhaled heavily. That used to be her dream but after hearing it all laid out by her siblings yesterday it suddenly felt akin to a nightmare. "They know we went back in time and not to another universe, right?"

"Sometimes I wonder." Five drawled.

"I kept listening to them last night to see if I could find out more, but they haven't mentioned it since."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I was panicking." She admitted.

Nowadays a panicking Vanya meant the structural integrity of the building was at risk, so she'd spent the evening practising the breathing exercises Five had looked up for her until she felt somewhat calm enough to sleep. The nightmares woke her up not long after. They always did now, when she slept alone.

"We agreed when you feel upset you'd come and find me." Five lightly scolded, well aware how her powers could spiral when the negative emotions overwhelmed her.

He'd witnessed her crush one of Luther's model aeroplanes with her mind the other week after all. The buzzing had disturbed her reading causing a spike in annoyance, the next thing the mangled wreckage nosedived into the bushes outside the Academy. Thankfully Number One had so many of them he didn't care it was missing; Five having hidden the remains under his jumper to smuggle out to the dumpster.

"I _know_ but the others are suspicious about us spending so much time together." Vanya excused.

"Who cares what they think?" Five scowled.

She tried a different approach: "Five, you haven't seen them in decades. Don't you want to spend time with them instead of being permanently holed up with me?"

Five had spent yesterday evening chatting with Diego and Klaus. When she'd spotted him in the kitchen he'd seemed so carefree and unlike his usual stressed, grumpy fifty-eight-year-old self, that she hadn't had the heart to interrupt them and ruin his fun as she always did.

"I see them in training." He shrugged.

"That's not the same." She looked at him appraisingly. "You don't have to babysit me all day you know. Besides, I think the others have already set up a schedule for that. Whenever you're not here one of them are."

"I am not babysitting you." Five scoffed. "And neither are the others. They just want to spend time with you. Allison is desperate to. Trust me – they're more jealous that I'm taking up all of your time than you taking up mine."

"They didn't want to spend time with me the first time around." Vanya remarked, a surge of bitterness rising in the back of her throat. She choked it back down.

"Vanya," Five chastised, "the last time they were children being terrorised by their supposed Father, who told them to stay away from you or they would put you in danger."

"That never stopped you." She interrupted.

He grinned at her cheekily. "I'm braver. What I'm saying is, give them some credit. They're _trying_. Maybe you should be too?"

"I've been making such good progress." Vanya said sadly, flopping back onto Five's pillow. "What if this messes it up?"

"You don't know it will." Five encouraged. "It will make it easier when they know – we won't have to hide your practice from them and they can each help with the development of your powers. Diego will be good at helping you target your energy bursts, and Allison will be invaluable once you start using music to affect people's moods."

"I still don't know if I can do that." She said uneasily. "It's just a theory."

"And one we'll test out. Maybe after you make progress with your atmokinesis?"

"My _what_?" Vanya said, glancing at him.

"I looked it up," Five explained, "controlling the weather is called atmokinesis. I couldn't find a term for super hearing though – maybe we could make one up?"

"I'm not sure about that one either. I made it rain but I'm not sure about anything else. I'm not sure about any of this."

"Vanya," Five said, grabbing her hand, trying to ground her, "we will figure it out. Together."

"Together as in you and me, or together as in all of us?" Vanya asked sullenly, playing with his fingers to give her mind something to occupy itself with.

"All of us." He stressed, still determined that her pseudo-amnesia was ending even if he disagreed with the other's methods.

"Until you leave again." She replied angrily, pulling her hand away.

The prospect that Five could return to the future, leaving Vanya behind for a second time, was still a sore point between them.

They'd spent a lifetime apart from one another, it was to be expected their friendship couldn't immediately be picked up from where it had been left off. It was taking time but they were learning everything new about each other, the changes in the other's character resulting from the passage of time and the absence of pills. That they had both nearly killed the other caused some brief contention: Five had easily forgiven her for creating the post-apocalyptic wasteland he had lived in and told her to forget about almost draining the life out of him – assuring her that self-preservation is entirely natural. As the book had proven however, Seven couldn't forget. The White Violin did not forgive. And Vanya stewed in guilt.

She had come nowhere near repairing the damage wrought by Five's first disappearance and nothing he could say could reassure her she could survive a second. She tried to put into words how devastating it had been for her and he had attempted to do the same, but the threat that he could leave again had shaken her no matter how hard Five tried to convince her everything would work out.

"We've got months before we have to decide about that." Five soothed, trying to take her hand again and sighing when she evaded him. He'd always known, much to his chagrin, that physical contact was the most effective way to calm Seven – he wasn't sure if he was relieved or exasperated to find it was still the case with Vanya.

"What are we doing about tonight?" Vanya asked, determined to change the subject.

"They need to find out, eventually."

Vanya huffed, feeling consumed by the girl she inhabits need to sulk.

"Are you pouting?" Five said incredulously, openly laughing at her. Her frown deepened and his laugh grew.

"Shut up." She said petulantly. "I'm thirteen. Thirteen-year-olds pout. Not that I _am_ pouting. But if I _was,_ it would be completely justified."

Five continued chuckling to himself.

"I like you like this." He eventually managed.

"What do you mean?"

"Off your pills – you're a different person. I mean you're still you, but this is who you were always meant to be. And I like who that is. Pouting and all." Five said.

Vanya prodded his ribs. "Giving me compliments won't make me agree with you."

"I'm not like that." Five said. "I only give compliments when compliments are due."

It was true, he did. Five never restrained himself from telling the truth unless his back was against the wall. How many times when he'd tried to comfort her had he accidentally insulted her instead, his mouth spewing forth the uncensored thoughts his mind contained without a second thought? Once, when having a panic attack after Reginald called her a failure of nature, he had compared her harsh intakes of breath to that of a congested pug. The words, stated so bluntly, startled a laugh out of her even as he cringed in the anticipation of more tears.

There had been plenty of times he had complained she was torturing her violin's strings, but that meant when he complimented a piece she was working on he truly thought she had improved. That's why she had always found him so easy to be around – unlike the others who complimented her only when they wanted something and shut her down when they wanted her to fade once more into the background. Five treat her like a human being; one with flaws, but not so flawed as the others made her believe. He was honest to her when it most mattered, something she appreciated even more now that she knew how many people had lied to her before. Sometimes he would soften the blow, but he wasn't one to waste time with sweet hollow words.

"I still don't want them to know." Vanya said, fighting the urge to cross her arms haughtily across her chest. "I get why they always acted the way they did, but doing this doesn't exactly show me they've changed. How am I supposed to trust them if they're still acting the same way?"

He sighed, agreeing with her frustration. "Has Ben found out about the meeting yet?"

"No he'll find out this morning."

Five crooked an eyebrow. "Do you have precognition now?"

Vanya clamped down on a smirk the White Violin was desperate to display. She enjoyed being reminded how infinite her powers seemed the be. "Klaus said he will tell him."

"Okay, I'll see Ben later and ask him to talk the other's out of it."

"Well if he can't I'm not going tonight." Vanya insisted, pointedly ignoring the roll of Five's eyes.

She wasn't being _unreasonable_.

"Fine. But you know how persistent they can be." Five agreed, glancing at his alarm clock.

Unfortunately she did. If it wasn't at the diner they'd pin her down somewhere unless Ben and Five could talk them out of it.

"I'll see you in the usual place for training later, okay?"

"Yeah."

"You'll hear if I get pulled into extra training?"

"I'll keep an ear out." Vanya said, frowning as a thought occurred to her. "Does it not bother you, that I'm listening? Because I can stop?"

"No." Five stated, getting up from the bed to stretch.

"Are you sure?"

He shot her an unimpressed look. "If you were bothering me, I would tell you. Besides, I don't want you trying to contain your powers. You need to have some free rein. Trust me, it's not good to bottle them up. Remember that time I broke my leg and Dad wouldn't let me jump until it was healed?"

"Mmm hmm."

She'd spent most of the week with him and by the end of it – for the first time in their friendship – she truly thought he might unleash his notorious temper on her. She kept offering to help him and as the week progressed, but he only got more surly with her. Although, as he hadn't thrown a plate at her head like he did at Klaus, she counted herself lucky she emerged from his ordeal with no permanent scars even if his snapping did hurt her feelings.

Five looked apologetic before continuing. "It's like the energy I exert with my jumps just built up inside me. I felt like my skin was too tight and I could hardly sleep. I think when I finally got the clear to teleport I jumped for an hour straight to burn it all off."

"And we've already learnt what happens when my energy builds up." Vanya nodded, understanding his point. "I just don't want to intrude."

"Vanya, Reginald intrudes on our lives all day every day. You," he said, patting her shoulder, "I don't mind at all. Besides, I need you to keep a listen out for anymore stupid ideas the others come up with. Ben and I can't supervise them all day every day, sometimes they get away from us."

"Okay. I'd better get back to my room before Grace does the rounds."

"I'll take you."

"_Oh but_..."

He grabbed her and jumped to her bedroom before she could finish the protest.

Vanya staggered sideways as he let her go but soon regained her footing.

"I think you're getting better with the symptoms." Five commented.

"_Ugh_."

"You know what they say, practise makes perfect." He grinned smugly.

"It's moments like these," She retorted without thinking, "that makes it really hard for me to convince the White Violin not to kill you."

He blinked at her.

"Is it too soon to make jokes about nearly killing you? Because I thought you nearly killing me made us even?"

"You consider your powers as a separate entity?" He asked disapprovingly.

"Oh," she managed, her voice far too high, "it just makes it easier. You know, to deal with the guilt of murdering seven and a half _billion_ people. And to hide away the more violent, murder, murder thoughts."

"Well that's not good."

"I guess you want to take back your earlier comment that you prefer me this way?" Vanya said anxiously, twisting her fingers sharply together until her joints protested.

"Do you think about murder a lot?" Five asked, his tone too conversational. It was setting the White Violin on edge.

"No."

"You're still an awful liar."

Vanya closed her eyes in shame. "Reginald."

Five snorted. "Is that all? It's a good thing none of us have proposed a vote on it, I think the motion would pass."

"Pogo." She added, her voice trembling. "Every time I hear him or he talks to me or touches me, I think about stopping his heart. Throwing him across the room so hard his back breaks. Pushing down on him until he suffocates. Hurling him out the window. Separating his skin from his bones. Slitting his throat with my bow, like I did to Allison."

Vanya trailed off, so deeply ashamed.

"Vanya..."

"_Don't tell me it's okay_." She said, slapping away his outreached arm. "It's not. It's _wrong_. I'm wrong."

Her head glanced at her bedside table where her pills were kept. She so desperately wanted them yet at the same time she wanted to crush them so harshly they disintegrated into dust.

"Vanya, _your eyes_."

Her tears blurred her vision. She didn't dare look in the mirror. The thought of being met by those bitter blue eyes scared her more than she ever thought it was possible to be afraid.

She squeezed her eyes shut; she didn't want to subject Five to them. They were so horrible.

"Vanya?"

"_Seven_?"

She glanced at him for Seven.

"Seven, yesterday I watched you walk all the way around a pigeon in the courtyard because you didn't want to disturb it while it was eating some crumbs." Five smiled. It was a genuine smile this time. "You will not kill Dad and you will not kill Pogo. But I don't think you're wrong for _wanting_ to."

He grabbed her elbow and brought her to the mirror. "There see, nice and brown again."

Exhaling, she observed her normal eyes with relief. "Thank you, Five."

"You're welcome, Seven. Until this afternoon."

After Five jumped back to his room, she got ready for another day. There were general classes together first thing after breakfast, followed by Vanya's French tuition when the six went off to train. There was no one-to-one training for Five today so Vanya wasn't called upon for his side-jumping practice – for which her stomach was eternally grateful. Lunchtime passed without notice although it became clear Ben now knew of the 'family meeting' if the sour looks he kept shooting at his fellow siblings over the top of his book were any indication. He was reading Dostoevsky again, which was always a sign Ben was in a bad mood. At least he was on one of the relatively upbeat ones – well, The Idiot was upbeat for Dostoevsky anyway. If he were reading Crime and Punishment or Demons, she would have been more concerned.

After lunch Five and Vanya were able to sneak away while Reginald started putting Luther through his paces.

Five had developed a more structured training schedule, based on the notes Vanya had collected from Reginald's book. He felt she was making good progress with telekinesis but he wanted her to try moving several objects in different directions at once.

While she had pulled several objects towards one target before – as in the case of Leonard – it was proving difficult attacking several targets at once with only her telekinesis. When she'd stopped her siblings attacking from opposite ends of the room it had been with that white energy she still couldn't figure out.

Five placed a stack of books between them.

"I just want you to pick each volume up and make them float in a separate location from each other. Don't worry about trying to throw them or making them do trick shots."

The trick shots were fun. She'd made one of Allison's old hand-me-down dolls do pirouettes the other day.

"All of them at once?"

"Let's start with two, then add more books to the sequence."

"Like juggling?" Vanya asked, focusing on picking up one book.

"Exactly."

She had three in the air, only a few millimetres away from each other, when she overheard Ben asking Klaus where Five was.

Sighing, she focused on the fourth determined not to let her concentration drop but it was too difficult trying to suspend four books in the air _and_ listen to an important conversation simultaneously.

They fell onto the bed and Five gathered them back up into a pile between their legs, not yet realising she was utilising another power.

"That was great for a first attempt..."

"Ben's looking for you." Vanya said absently, turning her full centre of attention onto the discussion downstairs. "He's talking to Klaus now."

"Anything important?" Five asked.

"Ben's trying to talk Klaus out of tonight, but he won't listen." She listened another minute then shook her head. "No, he won't listen."

"That's unfortunate."

"No shit." Vanya muttered, tracking Ben's footsteps, oblivious to Five's proud smirk. "He's still checking downstairs. Why don't you go meet him? You said you would talk to him about tonight, anyway."

"He can find us."

"I told you they're suspicious about all the time we spend alone."

"They do it too." Five shrugged. "I see Luther and Allison are sneaking out again. They're determined to get in trouble with Dad."

"He's been helping her." Vanya defended. "Dealing with losing Claire."

"She hasn't lost Claire. Not unless she chooses to."

Vanya wished she could talk to Allison about it yet, despite the olive branches Number Three kept offering her, she couldn't help but feel like she must be the last person on earth Allison would want to discuss her daughter with. It hadn't gone well the first time, and that was before Vanya triggered the apocalypse which had killed Claire.

"I feel bad."

"You will do." Five said, not trying to placate her with meaningless platitudes. "The guilt is something we all have to deal with. You're not the only killer amongst us, Vanya."

"It's different."

"How?" He asked patiently.

"You all didn't enjoy it."

"Hey, Five?" Ben called, hesitantly pushing open the door to their makeshift training room.

"What?"

Five's tone was too sharp towards her kindest brother and Vanya was quick to chastise him with a light hit on the arm. He always found her weak slaps amusing, mainly the reason she did it. Amusement had always been the way to best diffuse Five's temper.

"Five, I need to talk to you for a minute."

"About what?"

Ben paused before speaking: "Guy stuff."

She knew it was an excuse Ben was using to get Five alone but she couldn't prevent her eyes from widening. Looking between the two boys in disbelief she waited with bated breath to see how Five would respond.

"Guy stuff?" He said, his voice laden with annoyance and discomfort. Five agreed to go with him however, knowing he had promised to speak to Ben.

As Ben left the room first, Five was free to visually communicate with her, tapping his left ear to indicate that she should listen in on their conversation.

She half-listened at first, as she already knew everything Ben would tell Five to catch him up. While they spoke she tried levitating some books again, focusing on two this time. She was determined to get a greater distance between them than she had before.

They were inching gradually apart, passing to opposite ends of the bed, when her pills were brought up.

"If you possessed monsters which can literally tear you apart wouldn't you want rid of them? Don't you think Klaus would have appreciated drugs which made the dead people who terrorise him every day disappear?"

Turning the full extent of her powers back to Five and Six, Vanya listened warily. Her family still didn't understand what those pills represented for her. Everything the man she had looked to as a Father had stolen from her. That ever present hollowness, the one thing in her life that was constant. It had gnawed away at her for three decades and they still didn't know.

"You think those pills just got rid of her powers? They ate her from the inside out until there was barely a scrap of personality left. You were with her longer than I was – when did you see her laugh, _properly_ laugh? Or stand up for herself? Those pills scooped out her powers and everything that makes her who she is and left her as a docile pet for Dad to tame. Do you want that for yourself? To be left as an empty shell only capable of feeling sadness and rejection? Because maybe we can arrange a trade."

The White Violin sneered at her desire to run to Five for a hug. She mentally told her to shut it.

"What are you two doing? You're always holed up together, it's driving Allison crazy."

"Dad increased her pill dosage a few weeks before we jumped back. She's still dealing with the effects. I'm trying to help her." Five said.

It wasn't a lie exactly, Reginald _did_ increase her pill dosage when she went through puberty.

The technicality didn't lessen the guilt. There was always so much guilt.

"God, could you imagine if she'd had these powers as a kid how easy missions would have been? I wonder why Dad suppressed them, you'd think he'd be thrilled to have someone so powerful?"

Vanya snorted, safe in the knowledge that neither of them possessed the hearing range to notice.

Five understood. For now that felt like enough.

She listened to them discuss her book, remembering the feeble attempts of fury that had bubbled within her when writing about Ben's death. After everything the regret she felt over the book had significantly subsided, helped by knowing that at the very least the book had provided Five with some useful information while he was trapped in her apocalypse.

Vanya wondered if Five looked for her there, and whether her body would have survived the damage she had caused.

She thought the boys' conversation had ended when Ben stopped Five from returning to her.

"I was just wondering if you know if I've upset Seven somehow?"

Once again Five was right. She wasn't as good a liar as she thought.

"I was just excited to be back with her again. I mean you try only having Klaus for company for twelve years." He joked. "I thought it wouldn't be so bad, even if I do have to pretend not to know about the future. We'd always been fairly close – not as close as you two – but I didn't think I'd have such a hard time connecting with her again. Ever since we came back though, it almost feels like there's a wall between us and she's not letting me get through."

"Why don't you try asking her about it? But _after_ you talk to the others."

She sighed, turning her attention back to the room. That was a fun conversation she could look forward to later.

Startling Vanya abruptly realised she was surrounded by books, each contentedly rotating at a sedate pace in different corners of the room. As soon as she realised what she was doing they all fell to the ground, some with an audible thump if they landed away from the bed.

"What was that?" Five asked cautiously, the door swinging open. He noticed the books and grinned. "You did it."

A scowl probably wasn't the response he was expecting, so she explained again how she lacked basic control over her powers.

"We know your powers have a stronger response to emotional inputs than logical commands." Five said. "Most of us do – why do you think Dad used such extreme measures when he trained us? To draw emotional reactions which would trigger a stronger release of our powers. Luther and Diego always responded well to anger, that's why he never discouraged them from their pointless infighting. The eldritch Ben possess react to his fear. Depending on emotional stimuli can make control difficult, but we build up to that."

He gathered up all the books and put them in a pile.

"Let's try again. Ben kept me longer than I thought and we don't have much time."

Concentrating she could only keep three spinning separately from one another, barely reaching opposite corners of the bed. The White Violin found it exasperating but Five kept up a steady stream of encouragement which Vanya greatly appreciated.

Her progress wasn't likely helped by her need to listen to her siblings' meeting. When she heard Luther agree with Ben, she almost shot one book out the window.

"I'm not sure if the plan is still going ahead." Vanya said, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "Good catch, by the way."

Five had jumped to seize the volume before it could shatter the glass.

"Luther agreed with Ben not to tell me. Apparently if the others are going to tell me tonight, he won't be there."

Five nodded thoughtfully, tossing the book back onto the central pile. "Then I guess we find out tonight."

"I'm not doing a good job acting like Number Seven, am I?"

"None of them know. They just think it's worse than they remember."

"What if Reginald figures it out?"

He sighed and stopped collecting the littered texts. "Then Allison rumours him into forgetting. That's all we can do."

They parted ways, the Umbrella Academy returning to training while Vanya headed downstairs for her art lessons. A lot of the time, the first go around, Seven had convinced Grace or Pogo to allow her to spend the sessions on violin practice instead – Reginald not caring either way which useless subject she engaged with – but Vanya now found the extra creative outlet refreshing. Even if the current medium of choice, gouache, was heavier than what she would prefer. The work produced was also a way for her to brighten up her room.

Her living spaces had always been bland, a result of her upbringing by Hargreeves. He saw decorating as frivolous, and he only permitted it as a reward for good behaviour. His idea of good behaviour was succeeding on missions, therefore Seven's chances of ever getting anything was slim unless Pogo agreed to plead her case and secure her some posters from local concert performances.

She wondered now why he did that. Perhaps it was the guilt, if he were capable of such a feeling.

Downstairs Ben was still waiting to talk to her; she could hear him muttering to the others asking how long until training would finish and where she was likely to be.

Five told Ben she would still be in the classroom unless she'd gone to the music room. As the classroom was closer to the training room, Vanya made it easy on Ben and stayed where she was.

"What a lovely painting, Seven." Grace praised, coming to stand by her shoulder. Her head titled as she analysed it.

"Can you tell what it is?" Vanya asked, suspecting the piece was too abstract for Grace to process. The smudges of green accented with brown all meshed together, forming no real lines to the creature.

Picturing the gears grinding in her head, Vanya took pity. "It's an otter. See, that's its eyes."

"Yes, of course it is." Grace said, smoothing her hand over Seven's hair. "I see it now. You are certainly dabbling in a lot of different art styles as of late."

"I like to experiment." She shrugged. "Although I preferred working in watercolour or oil. I find the gouache too heavy."

"I will remember that for our next session. Why don't you let me set it aside to dry then, if you want, we can hang it in your room tomorrow?"

"That would be nice. Thank you, Mom."

Grace moved elegantly around the room, setting everything away and ensuring the space was clean for the children's classes tomorrow morning.

"Are you coming to the kitchen dear?"

"No, thank you. I wanted to look something up in the French textbooks." Vanya excused, having no intention to do so but needing Grace to leave so she and Ben could have privacy.

"Very well."

The door shut behind her, not remaining closed for long before Ben poked his head into the classroom.

"Seven?"

"Hey Six. What're you doing here?" She asked innocently.

"I wanted to talk to you. Five said you might be here."

"I just finished art class." She confirmed, moving over to the sink to wash her hands. The paint had caked beneath her fingernails.

"Oh." Six mumbled, looking hesitant as he lingered by the door. "Erm, could I see what you've been working on?"

She nodded tentatively, pointing over to her drying piece of art.

"It's meant to be abstract." Vanya hastened to explain as he looked at it, not wanting him to think she was a bad painter.

"Is it an animal?"

"An otter."

Ben smiled. "That's my favourite animal."

"I know." She confessed quietly. She knew all of their favourites except for Five, who thought having a favourite animal was stupid. Vanya also knew that, unless Five had somehow surmised it, the others would have no idea what her favourite was. Of course that would be difficult for them to, since they had never asked, and she had never told them.

"Can I have it?" He asked.

The request surprised her but she couldn't deny Ben. "If you like."

Ben glanced around the room. "You do so many things without us, I never appreciated that. It's like you have a whole life outside of us. It's weird."

"What did you think I do when you're all training? Sit in my room staring at the wall?" Seven asked wryly. She said it as an accusation but it was the truth, that's all she had seemed to do growing up. Sitting, waiting, hoping.

"I don't know." Ben admitted. "I only realised that you paint when you started putting them up in your room. Why didn't you do that before?"

"I didn't think they were good enough then."

The double meanings were endlessly exhausting.

"I think they're beautiful."

He crossed over to the bookshelves. "You speak French too."

"Yes. I want to learn Russian as well, as that's where I was born." She confessed. "I also think it would be nice to read the Russian classics in their original language. Mom says it's a difficult language though."

"You can do it. You can do anything you set your mind to." Ben encouraged.

"I think it would be easier to learn if I could practise the languages more. I only have Mom to converse with. Five can sometimes follow along as he knows some Latin but, he can't talk back so it's not that helpful."

"I'll learn."

Vanya glanced at Ben. He seemed to have surprised both her and himself by the offer.

"When?"

He looked momentarily dejected, recalling his strictly organised days, before brightening. "I can read the textbooks. I'll learn the basics and you can tutor me on Sundays."

"Oh..."

"Come on, it'll be fun. We can drive Four and Five crazy by having conversations in a language they don't understand."

She tentatively agreed to the plan, smiling at his open enthusiasm.

"Great. Which book should I start with?"

Vanya went into the supply closet and dug around for the elementary textbooks she had long since surpassed. She found the series she had most preferred when she began and handed it over to him.

"There's a phonetic table at the back which will help you understand the pronunciation."

"Thanks, Ven." He said happily, tucking the book under his arm. "You know, I don't know if I've ever told you this but I always kinda envied you."

"Me?"

"I know for you it's most likely the other way around," Ben said shyly, "but I always hated training – I still do – and I don't like going on missions, not when they make me..."

He sighed, looking down at his hands which never seemed clean anymore.

"Whenever we'd leave you in the classroom, I'd wish I was staying too. I didn't want you to go in my place, I'd never want that for you. I wanted us to stay here together, safe, learning something that Dad would consider a waste of time. You've always been my one thread of normality in this house. When we sit together, for a moment, I feel like I could be anyone – anyone except Number Six. I know you hate being called ordinary, and I understand that. But to me being ordinary would be extraordinary. I always thought that was your super power, helping me feel normal for a few hours and forgetting the darkness that's always within."

Vanya glanced at his stomach. Ben seemed unaware that as he spoke his hands lowered to where the eldritch resided.

He chuckled wryly to himself. "Do you know what my favourite memory is?"

She shook her head.

"The others were on a mission in Germany but I'd been injured the other week and as I was still recovering Dad grounded me. Pogo knew I was miserable, so he snuck me and you out of the house and drove us to that bookshop. We spent hours there. I don't think I've ever seen you look so content." He smiled. "When Pogo finally said it was time to go I wanted to cling to the shelves and refuse to let go."

Vanya still went to that bookstore as an adult, always imagining she could see Ben amongst the stacks just out the corner of her eye.

"That was a good day."

"The best."

It was only as silence descended on the room again that Ben seemed to recall his original intention in seeking her out.

"So, I wanted to ask you," he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, the words struggling to find their place in his mouth, "if you..."

"Five said you thought I was upset with you?" Vanya said, making it easy for them again.

Ben exhaled with relief. "Yeah."

"I'm not. I've just been feeling," she shrugged, "I don't know, weird? _Tired._"

"Why do you think that is?" Ben asked warily.

"Dad said it might be a side effect of my pills. I'll get used to it."

She brushed it off, before Ben could try to talk her out of taking them.

He did anyway. She wished he had before.

"I can't do that." Vanya insisted, shaking her head tensely. "But, I, I'm sorry you thought I was mad. I swear I wasn't."

"I know, Seven." Ben soothed. "Still, I want you to feel that you can tell me. In fact if I ever upset you or make you angry I _want_ you to tell me. Or, if that's too much, you can just throw something at my head, I'll get the message."

"I'd have to ask Two to do it. I'd miss." She said, making her way over to the classroom door.

"Well if you're asking just tell Five to punch me in the arm. He'll do it if you ask him to."

"I'll consider it. Was there anything else?"

"No – are you going to practice your piano?"

Vanya shook her head. She wasn't going to practice the piano.

"I planned to take a nap. If we're going out later I want to rest first."

"Okay. Well I'll see you tonight."

"Bye, Six."

Retreating to her bedroom, Vanya snorted to herself as she saw the stack of books Five had brought for her to use that morning sat on her desk. There were all mathematics textbooks which he knew better than to try to make her read, so he must be hinting she continue her earlier practice.

Shifting her music stand in front of the camera, ostensibly so she could reach the box on top of her wardrobe which held her jumpers, she picked up the books and practised again. She took care to keep practice light since Five wasn't around to catch any misfired projectiles, working with only two books and scattering her jumpers and pillows on the floor to muffle the sound if they fell.

Since she had the most success earlier moving separate objects while utilising her super hearing (she still felt ridiculous talking about her super hearing, it didn't even sound like a real power), Vanya turned her attention to the skies.

Listening to air traffic was proving a relatively effective training exercise. As there was limited movement in the skies she could focus more on targeted hearing. Many flights flew the same routes at the same times so she could listen for the identification codes. It would go smoother if she could make notes matching the codes and times for reference, however if it was found by another member of the household it would raise questions she couldn't risk answering under Hargreeves roof.

Once she had selected a flight, she stuck with it as long as she could, wishing she had a way to know the distance they travelled away from her before she lost contact. It felt further than anything she had accomplished listening to in the city, but then again there was nothing in the city she could straightforwardly track except perhaps the subway, but the screeching brakes set her nerves alight.

When the airliner she tracked disappeared out of range, Vanya chanced opening her eyes to look at her books. She gasped as she realised half the room was floating mid-air.

Her earlier precautions came in good use as one by one objects dropped. Fortunately her room was generally clutter free and the heavier furniture hadn't shifted – including the music stand, which was the only thing hiding her spiralling powers from Reginald's attention. It was mostly the floor padding, books and some loose possessions like her hairbrush which had taken off.

"Huh." She muttered to herself, somehow both thrilled and infuriated with herself. Quickly scrambling off the bed, she moved to pick everything up and tidy it away. Picking up all the jumpers but one, she returned them to the box and put it back in its place. The music stand moved back into the corner also, opening her up to scrutiny again – that was if Reginald even bothered to watch her anymore. He was so certain in her complacency.

Mercifully as they got older, he had reduced the invasions of their privacy, an accomplishment Klaus later took credit for. Apparently he made a habit of doing things behind closed doors he knew Reginald wouldn't care to see. Ultimately he had to remove the cameras from everyone's rooms or risk an outcry from the increasingly stubborn teenagers over the disparity in treatment.

The upcoming removal didn't stop Vanya's skin from crawling and it was difficult to resist looking at them every time she entered a room, well aware where they were all positioned after the decades of familiarity she had amassed with the manor. Doubtlessly the others were going through the same thing, and Vanya imagined that Reginald monitored their activities far more closely than her own.

She felt sorry for them.

The White Violin didn't.

It was a struggle to reconcile the two trains of thought, so Vanya headed downstairs. The dinner bell wouldn't ring for another twenty minutes but she didn't mind waiting.

"Hi Seven." Luther said and Vanya had to restrain a flinch, remembering his comments from before.

She'd thought she was doing so well fooling them all.

"Hello Number One." She replied tentatively.

They walked down the stairs together, One trying not to glance her way too often and Seven trying to convince her feet to stay on track instead of putting more space between them.

It was ridiculous really. Out of everyone in the Umbrella Academy, Luther and Diego posed the smallest risk to her. Klaus too now Ben was no longer a ghost for him to project. Luther couldn't even hurt her unless he got his arms around her, which wouldn't happen twice, and even if he did, she had enough control over her powers now to get him off her. Yet she couldn't get stop the skittishness she felt, especially when it was the two of them alone.

It was something she needed to manage.

The White Violin pointed out killing him could count as management but Vanya effortlessly cast the suggestion aside. The thought of doing any of the six anymore harm made her stomach wrench uncomfortably; she wouldn't entertain the idea. Luther wasn't the same as Reginald or Pogo. The children had all suffered in some way or another. They couldn't be used as scapegoats for her fury. It wasn't right.

Number Seven knew it wasn't right.

Vanya enjoyed remembering her mind as Number Seven. Her existence had been overwhelmingly miserable, but she had somehow retained an idealism and morality back then that adult Vanya had long ago lost. She'd lost it as soon as she sent the book to the publishing house – maybe earlier, perhaps when Ben died – and now she was back to her young body she couldn't help but mourn its loss.

They were all battle weary, some of them displaying their scars more candidly than others.

A therapist would have a field day with them.

"Did you have a good afternoon?" Luther tried.

She took pity on him and endeavoured to give him a proper response instead of the nervous nods and shakes of the head she had been limited to as of late when around Reginald's favourite child.

"Yes. I was painting with Mom. We've started using gouache – it's not my favourite, but it's nice to try new things. Don't you think?"

"Yeah." He replied, surprised by the positive response. Luther offered a tentative smile in light of her words. "I've been trying new things too."

She'd heard. Personally she didn't think he should dive straight into the astrophysics books, he would do better to first create a stronger foundation of physics and chemistry knowledge to enable him to understand the more advanced theories. She couldn't tell him that, however. Not without first explaining that she had super hearing and was using it to keep tabs on them day and night.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I've been reading about astrophysics. I don't understand it much though." He said glumly, the corners of his mouth falling. "I'm not smart enough, I never have been."

The last part was said like a silent confession. She had often been privy to silent confessions as a child. The others would forget her very existence and anything she saw or heard from then on was an intrusion.

Except, this time, he kept looking at her. This time she was a participant in the conversation.

"I know you have better things to do. And I don't know why you'd ever want to help _me_. I'm probably a lost cause anyway, but, do you think," he sighed, "forget it. This is dumb."

"What is it?" Vanya asked softly before he could march off.

She thought his confidence would fail him but somehow he finally spat it out.

"Could you help me understand it? I'd ask Five," he hastened to add, "but he's not patient with me and, and I don't think it would work. After him you're the smartest person I know."

"Sure I will. Although Five knows more about it than me."

Five had taught her most of what she knew in the sciences – he'd far surpassed what Grace was teaching them from a young age as his hunger for knowledge grew, devouring the textbooks in Reginald's library and requesting more. Seven had nothing better to do and had jumped at the opportunity to spend time with him when he offered to show her what he had been learning.

Luther wasn't wrong though; he could be a _very_ impatient teacher. In fact impatient wasn't a strong enough adjective. He had a temper as short as a ruler, easily triggered whenever someone didn't immediately keep up with him. Five would pour out a multitude of facts and expect everyone to understand. When they didn't, he could be rude and dismissive (if she were being kind in her description). He had an ego to rival the size of the moon she blew up. She figured it was to be expected of someone so intelligent.

Somehow, however, he had usually kept his infamous temper under check when she went to him. She believed it was because he could never deny someone who was genuinely interested in what they wanted to learn. Perhaps if Luther demonstrated his dedication in the subject Five could come around to the idea. And if she spent several days persuading him first.

"I think you'll be a better teacher." Luther assured, leading them into the dining room. They were the first there.

Despite the lack of company, as they split for their separate ends of the table, their conversation felt truncated. The 'no talking at the dinner table' rule felt too ingrained to break, especially with such a distance between their chairs.

Five and Ben came in together, taking their seats beside her.

"Good afternoon?" Five asked, having no concern for dining room rules.

"Yes, thank you."

"Have you seen Seven's artwork?" Ben directed the question at Five. "It's fantastic. She's letting me have the latest one."

She felt like giggling as Ben and Five began to discuss her artwork all too seriously.

"Modernist?"

"I'd say more post-impressionist." Ben replied.

Vanya's cheeks were already pink when Luther asked if he could see it when it was finished.

"You'll be able to see it on exhibit in my room. I already know where I'm putting it." Ben said cheerfully.

"What're we talking about?" Klaus asked, coming to stand beside Ben.

"Seven's art."

"I wish I got to do art too." Klaus sighed. "But Mom started locking the supplies away in the cupboards after I rubbed all that blue paint in my hair."

"You looked like a Smurf." Ben laughed.

"I did it _one_ time. Talk about an overreaction."

Allison and Diego hurried into the room, just getting behind their chairs before Reginald entered.

The evening's lecture was on origami folding.

Vanya idly wondered if Grace would reintroduce paper crafts to her art classes as she picked her way through dinner, trying not to eat too much if she were to eat donuts later. Luckily years of practice had taught her how to disguise the fact she left half of her dinner behind. She didn't appreciate how much the pills had affected her appetite until she weaned herself off them.

She followed Five into the library after they finished dinner, asking for his help in choosing some books to give Luther for reading.

"He's learning astrophysics?" He asked dubiously, leading the way to the physics section.

"_Yes_. I think it's nice he's trying to make a better future for himself." Vanya defended. "Have you thought about what you'll do when we grow up again?"

"I'll worry about it once we know the Commission won't come for us anymore." Five deflected.

"Maybe you could be a professor."

His face contorted into disgust. "And teach _kids_?"

"At university." She clarified. "Teaching adults."

"_Young_ adults."

"So that's a no? Hmm, how about a researcher? At a lab somewhere? By yourself?"

"It's a possibility." Five said, refusing to commit. "Although it's bad enough being subjected to Mom and Pogo's classes. I don't think I'd have the patience to sit through years of university lectures, listening to a bunch of old farts drone on. I mean, you know what they say about teachers?"

"That they're only teaching because they failed in their profession?"

"Exactly."

"You know I used to teach violin, right?" She asked, just to watch him freeze.

Laughing to let him know she wasn't really offended, Vanya pushed past him to grab Newton's _Principia_.

"You learned Newton's laws of motion?" Five noted, a mixture of pride and respect injected into his voice.

"I learned a lot from these books after you disappeared." She shrugged, hoping her confession wouldn't upset him. "They reminded me of you. Reading them sort of made me feel like you were next to me again for a few minutes, trying to explain them to me."

Five nodded. "I used to do that. But I'd read those depressing Russian books you and Ben used to like so much."

She beamed at him. "You read fiction? Are you saying all I had to do to get you to read War and Peace was start an apocalypse?"

"Apparently." Five grinned, pulling out a few more books to join Newton before tugging her over to the chemistry section.

Vanya held out her arms to accept the growing stack of books as Five perused the shelves, occasionally asking her opinion before deciding on a text suitable for Luther.

"What time are we leaving tonight?" She asked when Five leaned in to give her another book.

"Ten thirty as usual." He replied, staying close to her so he could quietly ask, "I meant to say, have you realised what week we're approaching?"

She replied enthusiastically. "_Yes_. A whole week of freedom. Well, besides Pogo and Mom."

"Well I think we can work a way around them." Five muttered, pulling away.

"I suppose those will be enough books."

"Plenty, I'll go pass some of them along for One to start reading. I'm not sure how I'll fit tutoring One in physics and Six in French though. Not without encroaching on our sessions."

Five looked at her like she was mad. "You can't do that, ours are more important. Why does Six even need to learn French?"

"He asked me to teach him." She shrugged. "I couldn't say no."

"Actually you could." He said disapprovingly. "Remind me to add 'saying no' to our training schedule."

"Let me rephrase. I didn't _want_ to say no."

"Better." Five nodded. "Don't worry, we'll work it out. If the worst comes to the worst, I can teach Number One. Sometimes. Not too often though, I might kill him."

Luther was surprised when they both turned up at his door to hand over his new reading materials, even more so when Five eventually left having made no cutting remarks about his new hobby.

Five stayed with her until it was time for the act to begin, separating to prepare for bed. They wished Grace goodnight and shut themselves in their rooms.

It was just past ten when Five reappeared in her room, having already gone downstairs to put the cameras on a loop. He was holding some scarves and jumpers in his arms and tried to offer them up.

"Thank you but I've already got on a jumper and two pairs of socks. Plus I'll wear my own scarf and coat, that will be enough."

"You're always cold though." Five said, trying to offer her another jumper.

"I'll be fine."

"Okay. But you said that once before and then I ended up walking home without a jacket."

"We were eleven, will you stop throwing it in my face?" Vanya huffed.

He was still holding the jumper, so she reluctantly snatched it from his hand. Tugging it over her head muffled her retort; she had to repeat herself once she had it on.

"I said, if I get too warm you're carrying my coat home."

"I can manage that."

Getting to Luther's room was a long unpractised art, but they all managed it. Vanya was also far more confident going down the fire escape this time, safe in the knowledge she could use her telekinesis to stop herself from falling flat on her face if she slipped.

Allison chatted happily with her for the entire walk and insisted Vanya sit beside her when they reached Griddy's.

"I'm so glad we could do this ag...glad you could _finally_ join us." Allison caught herself. For an actress she seemed to have trouble memorising the lines. "Have you ever had a donut?"

"I've brought her one before." Five said, echoed by Ben.

"I like the strawberry frosted ones." Vanya said.

"Then I'll ask for extra strawberry." Klaus announced, getting up to place their order.

"So what did you today, Seven?"

Vanya glanced around the table. Evidentially while Allison led the conversation, the others were just going to listen and stare.

Talk about uncomfortable.

"Lessons."

Allison raised an eyebrow, prompting her to elaborate with a gentle smile. Vanya looked to Five for help.

"Well if you recall Number Three, we started with maths then we had an hour of English..."

"I meant after we left Five." She snapped.

"French then art."

"You're learning French?" Allison asked sweetly, her smile faltering when Ben pointed out Seven had studied it for years.

"You speak French?"

"Je parle assez bien le français." She shrugged. She'd been rusty when she restarted the lessons, but it turned out she remembered more than she thought. Even if she was still struggling to successfully conjugate her verbs.

"Oh."

"How was training?" Vanya asked pleasantly, trying to wipe away Allison's clear expression of regret.

"Fine. I mean _excruciating_, but that's nothing new."

"At least you didn't get rope burns on the climb." Klaus grouched, returning to the table. He held up his hands which were still visibly red. "I was almost at the top too."

"I told you not to look down." Diego said.

"You shouted at me! Of course I looked down."

"I was just asking if you were okay."

"You were taking quite a long time to climb it." Luther added.

"I was doing _fine_ until I was screamed at."

"Don't exaggerate."

"He didn't scream."

Ben leaned into her side. "Are One and Two agreeing with each other or am I hallucinating?"

"I would say you're in a sugar induced coma but, since we haven't eaten yet, I guess it must be real."

The waitress set the platter of donuts down in the middle of the table and Ben pushed it towards Vanya.

"Take as many as you want, Seven."

She took one, placing it on her napkin to break into smaller bites. Klaus tried to snatch a piece, but Ben was quicker and slapped his hand away.

"There's a whole plate full you dummy."

"I always like how Seven tears them into little pieces."

"Then you do it."

"But then my hands would get all sticky. It's much easier to steal Seven's."

Vanya tugged her napkin further away from Klaus' greedy hands and ate, glad that the food had brought Allison's line of questioning to an end. She had two strawberry donuts; Five nudging her shin with his foot until she ate a third, this time a jam filled one. He'd long given up on trying to make her eat more but even he couldn't stand the nervous looks around the table, the others worrying Seven wasn't enjoying herself when eating so little.

She made a show of smiling as the jam dripped onto her chin. "Yum."

"The jam ones are my favourite." Allison said.

Vanya knew. Luther had always saved them for her when they'd all go to Griddy's together.

"They're good."

"I always thought I'd like the strawberry ones more," Allison said, leaning closer to Seven as if she were revealing some secret, "because I loved pink and thought the frosting was pretty. But, and don't tell the others this because they'll think I'm a freak, I _hate_ sprinkles. Literally can't stand them."

"Freak." Vanya said good naturedly. "Sprinkles are amazing."

"They're _hard_. And they don't taste of _anything_."

"They're not meant to. They're decorative."

"You don't care about decorations. There are cars that are decorated more than your room."

"Strawberry frosted are still my favourite." She shrugged.

Klaus deposited some money on the table and they all grudgingly agreed to return to the Academy, none of them ready to leave the warmth and happiness associated with Griddy's and return to the cold shell they were meant to consider their home, however they knew for now they couldn't toe the lines Reginald set.

Vanya was far too warm as they left and smugly handed Five her coat which he folded over his arm.

"Don't say it." He warned.

Allison dragged her away from Five and Ben to walk alongside her at the front of the group instead, which also brought her back to Luther's side.

"That was nice. Wasn't that nice?" Allison asked. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah."

"Sure."

She looked at both of them, unimpressed by their lacklustre responses.

"Well _I_ had a great time." Allison said. "We should all sneak out more often."

"Maybe the next time Dad goes out, Three."

Vanya nodded in agreement with Luther.

Allison seemed loathe to allow the evening to come to an end, following Seven up the fire escape and trying to convince her to stay in her room for a sleepover after they crowded into Luther's room.

"Come on, it'll be fun." She said. "We've never had a sleepover before."

Klaus snuck out the room first, followed by Luther who needed to use the bathroom.

"Thanks, Three. But I'm tired." Vanya excused.

While she loved her sister, she couldn't bear the thought of keeping up the charade for much longer. Pretending to be the person she no longer is was more exhausting than she had imagined when she first entered her lie.

"Oh, Seven wait." Allison said, grabbing hold of Vanya's arm as she tried to be the next to sneak out of One's room. "Don't go yet. Six can go next."

"Don't mind if I do." Ben said, standing from the windowsill to stretch.

"This is s-stupid." Diego said, glancing around the room for support. "Just _tell_ her already."

Vanya froze, trying not to glance to Five for rescuing. "Tell me what?"

"Yeah, tell her _what_?" Five asked warningly. "She said she doesn't want a sleepover, leave her be."

"What Five said." Ben chipped in.

"Seven," Diego started, "we travelled back in time from the f-future because _you_ started an apocalypse."

She blinked at him with the biggest doe eyes she could summon.

"_Diego_." Allison hissed. "You idiot. Did you have to tell her like that?"

"You've had powers this whole time," he continued, speaking matter-of-factly, "those pills D-Dad gives you suppress them."

Allison looked at her uneasily, torn between wanting to berate Diego and wanting Vanya to finally learn the truth. "It's true. But we're all here for you. We'll help you learn to control them."

There was a wealth of bad memories for Vanya to draw upon but she selected the worst, the one always guaranteed to make her cry, and she soon felt the moisture build up in her eyes. The important thing was not to look at Five; she could feel him rolling her eyes from across the room as he watched her performance.

"No, Ven I swear it's real." Allison insisted, shooting a glare at Diego as she crowded around Vanya. Her arms were outstretched, ready to draw her into a hug.

"You're making fun of me." Vanya said flatly, the first tear spilling over.

"_No_."

"It's t-true." Diego insisted, dodging Ben's hand as his brother tried to hold him back. "You have powers. Crazy, scary, earth ending powers."

"You didn't really want me here tonight, you just wanted to make fun of me." She insisted, backing to the door before anyone could grab her and scurried off to her room.

She was worried that she would draw the adults' attention as she ran yet somehow her powers seemed to pull the sound away from her steps, keeping her movements soundless as she fled down the hallway. The door fell silently behind her despite the unwitting strength she put behind the closure.

"_Great plan_." She heard Five say to the others before he teleported into his room.

Angrily swiping her tears away, unsure whether she was furious with herself or the others, Vanya quickly got dressed for bed figuring Five would be by shortly to talk to her. She listened to Ben advise the others to leave her alone for the night just as Luther returned to his bedroom, confused why half of them were still there and Allison was so upset.

"Diego, we agreed that I would do it tomorrow." Allison said. Vanya could hear her hands sliding across her cheeks, collecting her tears. "You've ruined everything."

"No, I haven't." Diego said. "She'll be in that room now thinking about what we've said. Five and Ben can c-convince her tomorrow to stop taking the pills and then she'll _know_. And when she does, we can get the hell out of this house and away from that _m-monster_."

"Is that what you think will happen?" Ben asked sharply. "Is that why you've done this? Because you think once Vanya knows the truth we can all just leave?"

"Yeah, why can't we?"

"We've still got to train Vanya to use her powers." Luther pointed out, going over to the dresser to pull out his pyjamas.

Five jumped into her room but Vanya held up a finger before he could speak, indicating that she was listening to the others. He nodded, taking a seat on her desk while he waited.

"We can do that somewhere else." Diego said, his voice turning desperate. "We're not actually staying _here_ are we? I can't s-stay here."

"It's not about you." Allison snapped.

"It's about all of us." Diego insisted. "And do _any_ of us want to be h-here? With _him_? I feel like I'm going mad being here – I can't be the only one!"

Her voice softened when she was able to manage a response. "No. You're not the only one."

"It's hard for us all Diego." Luther assured. "But there's no reason we can't make it better this time."

Ben rubbed his eyes. "I'm going to bed. _Goodnight_."

Sighing as the door shut, Allison turned to her two closest numbers. "Am I the only one who feels like I'm fucking up every step?"

"No." Diego snorted. "It doesn't help we have the Five and Ben telling us every other minute."

"Someone needs to keep us in check." Luther said. "And I'm happy to let them figure this out because, honestly, I don't know what to do anymore."

Allison patted him on the shoulder as Diego took his leave. Vanya stopped listening to the goings on in One's room then, wanting to afford her sister and Luther some semblance of privacy.

Her hearing withdrew down the hallway, checking on her other siblings, until she refocused on Five.

"Well?" He asked, noticing that he finally had her attention.

"Diego thinks he's planted the seeds of doubt in my mind." Vanya sighed, gratefully clambering into bed.

"His delusions are almost as bad as your acting."

"They believed me, didn't they?"

"You wouldn't have fooled me."

"I know I wouldn't." She said softly, not pulling the blankets up in case Five decided he was staying.

"You would have told me eventually, wouldn't you?"

His voice was quiet, but it was no struggle for her to hear him.

"Yes. I always would have told you first." She admitted, knowing it was true.

It felt nice to tell the truth, especially in a house so intrinsically built on lies, and Five had always been her closest confidant. It was true she didn't tell him everything, always so scared of becoming too much of a burden that even her best friend would reject her, but he was the person who knew her best. Even with their fractured friendship upon his arrival in the future, she still recognised him as her best friend. It likely didn't help he looked exactly the same as when he disappeared but she knew being back in Seven's body had wrought a similar effect on Five when they jumped back. Like they were picking up where they left off, even though everything was so completely different. Maybe it was a vain hope, but she was happy to try.

"When?"

"I guess we'll never know now. Not unless you feel like resetting everything again?"

Five pulled a face. "Unless it's strictly necessary, _no_. I thought I was going to hack up my entire digestive track the night we got back."

He took a seat next to her on the bed, pulling up the blankets to cover their legs.

"I would have told you long before everyone else." She assured. "The first week we were back, and I was struggling to decide what to do I wished I could find the courage to tell you. And Ben," Vanya amended, "but I was worried he'd tell Klaus and give everything away."

"Why didn't you tell me then?" Five asked, his voice unusually small.

"I was too scared. I didn't know what would happen – what you were all planning to do to me. So I kept it to myself and practically drove myself mad doing it. I felt like I would fall apart."

"We'd put you back together again." Five said understatedly. "So, Ben's next on the list, huh? Any idea when you'll break the news to him?"

Vanya giggled gently, a slightly manic edge to her laughter. "God help me. I just did."

"What?" Five frowned.

"He's been listening outside the door the whole time." Vanya laughed, raising a hand to stifle her panicked chuckles.

She used her powers to absorb the surrounding sounds again, her anxiety somehow manifesting itself in that manner, allowing Ben to noiselessly enter the room. He glanced at Seven and Five dumbly, having just enough sense to close the door behind him.

* * *

Yikes. Okay, if you've made it through this incredibly long chapter just pat yourself on the back right now. Seriously, I don't know how you put up with me XD So, Ben's now in the know. That's nice right. Also I couldn't resist pulling Klaus out of the final conversation, revenge for Ben and Five for not being invited to the 'family meeting'. I already have a plan for the next (as of yet untitled) story, and even put a little set-up in this chapter for it. As always thank you for all the feedback, I'm so blown away by the response I get on this series. Every comment makes me so happy, it's always lovely to hear people enjoy my work. You're all amazing 3


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